Australia court doubles payout for an Australian trans woman in a landmark discrimination case; the decision was made by a Sydney court, which ruled on the case involving the Giggle for Girls app.

Background of the Case

The case. Known as ‘Tickle vs Giggle. ‘ began almost two years ago when Roxanne Tickle successfully sued Sall Grover, founder of the Giggle for Girls app; Tickle was kicked off the app after Grover blocked her account on the grounds of gender identity.

Grover lodged an appeal against the original verdict. However, the Federal Court dismissed the appeal and ruled that Tickle was directly, rather than indirectly, discriminated against by Grover.

Tickle was awarded compensation of AU$20,000 ($14,000; £11,000), which is double the original amount. The case is significant as it is the first time a case of alleged gender identity discrimination has been heard by the Federal Court in Australia.

Legal Arguments and Rulings

Giggle’s legal team argued that sex is a biological concept. They admitted Tickle was discriminated against but on the grounds of sex, not gender identity. During the original case, the court heard that Grover had removed Tickle from the app after noticing ‘male facial features’ on Tickle’s profile photo.

Grover told the court that when she looked at Tickle’s profile picture, she decided Tickle was not a woman and removed the account, stating that the process was ‘the same as removing all males.’

Under the country’s Sex Discrimination Act, it is illegal for providers of goods or services to discriminate against another person on the ground of a person’s gender identity. The Federal Court found that Grover had engaged in unlawful direct discrimination, saying she had treated Tickle ‘who is a transgender woman, less favourably than a person designated female at birth seeking access to the Giggle App.’

Implications and Reactions

The three judges also found that the original judge had erred by not deeming Tickle’s removal from the app based on Grover’s ‘first visual review’ of the profile picture as direct discrimination. The earlier ruling had found that Grover had indirectly discriminated against Tickle.

Tickle downloaded the app in 2021 and passed the registration process, which included a selfie. She used the app for about half a year before being blocked. Grover founded the Giggle for Girls app in 2020 in response to online abuse by men during her time as a screenwriter in Hollywood.

‘I wanted to create a safe, women-only space in the palm of your hand,’ Grover said earlier. Shortly after Friday’s ruling, Grover said she intended to appeal the decision in the High Court.