The campaign group Sex Matters has launched a £50,000 legal initiative aimed at overturning the current guidance, which has permitted trans-identifying males to access the women-only swimming space since 2019, reports GB News.
The group argues the policy is now unlawful under the April court decision, which clarified that single-sex services can lawfully exclude members of the opposite biological sex, regardless of gender identity.
The City of London Corporation, which manages the bathing ponds, has so far resisted pressure to change course.
Instead, it has doubled down, stating that signs will be displayed at the Ladies’ Pond affirming access for “trans women,” including in changing areas and showers.
One woman, describing a recent encounter, said: “I was showering outside after my swim when a big man with a long wig and a long coat came walking down the path to the pond area. This man came and lingered in the restricted area between the outdoor showers and the fence, where my towel was draped. He stood there turned at an angle, looking at me and evidently wanting me to know that he was looking at me. I was trapped, because I was naked and my towel was on the fence behind him.”
The issue has sparked protests from women’s rights activists, including demonstrations where women entered the men’s pond wearing false facial hair to draw attention to what they see as a double standard. The legal challenge follows mounting calls for public bodies to bring policies in line with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has stated that institutions must implement the judgment “as soon as possible.”
Maya Forstater, chief executive of Sex Matters, said: “We were amazed to discover that the City of London Corporation thinks the Ladies’ Pond is not a ‘single-sex service’ in law. This is nothing more than linguistic trickery.”
She added, “The corporation claims that, because it chooses to define ‘women’ and ‘men’ according not to biological sex but to who wants to be referred to as ‘she’ or ‘he,’ the Supreme Court judgment doesn’t apply. Neither Hampstead Heath nor the City of London Corporation are sovereign entities that get to make their own laws.”
The Kenwood Ladies’ Pond Association (KLPA), a local group representing pond users, supports the current access policy, stating that “trans women have been swimming there for many years without incident,” says the London Standard. A motion calling for the pond to be restricted to biological females was “resoundingly defeated” by members last year.
A City of London Corporation spokesperson said the current access rules remain in place during an ongoing review and added, “This summer we will engage with our service users and other stakeholders to ensure we understand their needs and can take properly informed decisions.”
