(Roxanne Tickle. Photo by ABC News)
Australia’s highest court has rejected the final appeal bid by the founder of a women only social media app, ending a long legal battle over whether the platform had the right to exclude a transgender woman.
Sall Grover created Giggle for Girls as what she called a safe space for women only.
In 2021, the app rejected Roxanne Tickle, a transgender woman, after she posted a selfie.
Grover argued the app should be exempt from discrimination laws because it was designed specifically for women.
But courts disagreed.
A lower court ruled that excluding Tickle based on her appearance in the photo amounted to direct discrimination against a transgender woman.
The court increased damages to Tickle to 20,000 Australian dollars and ordered Grover to pay up to 100,000 dollars in legal costs.
Grover tried to appeal to the High Court, but it rejected her request.
The judges said there was no good reason to doubt the lower court’s interpretation of the discrimination law and that her appeal had little chance of success.
Grover said she was devastated and vowed to keep fighting.
She claimed the courts are captured by ideology and called on politicians to fix what she sees as a problem.
Her legal team had framed the case as being about the basic question of what defines a woman, saying people should be able to discuss it openly.
Advocates for transgender rights celebrated the decision.
Officials said the discrimination law protects all women, including transgender women.
