The "trans" judge who wants to intervene in the definition of "woman"

Carlos FresnedaLondon Correspondent

London Correspondent

Updated Monday, April 1, 2024-00:33

Victoria McCloud

made history in 2010 as the first (and youngest) transgender judge to sit at the High Court of England and Wales. Praised for years for her work in defense of diversity and inclusion, she decided to suddenly throw in the towel in February due to

"the climate of hostility"

toward gender identity.

"My life has become politicized every time I decide to pee," he declared at the time of his resignation at the age of 54. "I have come to the conclusion that, in the national situation we are in in 2024,

it is not possible to decently be a

prominent, salaried, trans judge in the United Kingdom."

McCloud was a man until the 1990s, when he completed the transition. The gender change did not hinder his entry and rise in the judicial career under his maiden name,

Victoria Williams

. 18 years ago he entered into a civil union with psychiatrist Annie McCloud and adopted her last name.

For years she served as a judge without major problems, simultaneously calling on the "trans" community to access public institutions. "All of this has had a cost and, as a public figure,

I have become a political target

," she acknowledged. "With the rise of the movement against gender identity, the season has been opened, against me and against many other people."

Her resignation will take effect in April, and Victoria McCloud hopes to take advantage of her "freedom" to intervene in the legal battle that is being waged in Scotland over the legal definition of "woman." The judge has the support of The Good Law Project to be able to testify in the case of the Gender Representation in Public Bodies Act of 2018.

The controversial law, promoted by then First Minister

Nicola Sturgeon

, set a target of "gender representation" for public bodies in Scotland, with a guarantee that 50% of non-executive members be women.

The text incidentally redefined the term 'woman' to include

any person who "lives as a woman"

and who at least "intends [to become] a woman."

The group For Woman Scotland challenged the law, claiming that "biological men" cannot qualify as "women" or be considered "female representation". The author of Harry Potter,

JK Rowling

, long involved in the "trans" controversy,

has donated 81,000 euros

to the feminist group during the long legal battle.

A high court ruled in the first instance that the Scottish Government acted beyond its legislative powers by redefining the term "woman". Judge

Shanon Haldane,

however, turned the argument around by determining that it is "legal" to extend the definition of woman to "trans" women with a gender recognition certificate.

"In so many cases involving trans people, the person concerned cannot appear in her own defense," said

Jo Maugham

, executive director of The Good Law Project, which is trying to pave the way for Justice Victoria McCloud. can intervene in a personal capacity - and once she has removed her toga - in the case before the Supreme Court.

Victoria McCloud has not been able to speak to the media in recent weeks due to judicial restrictions. According to

The Guardian

, the "trans" judge has made it known that if For Women Scotland manages to overthrow the Scottish law,

she will end up "emigrating to an EU country

where she can be legally recognized as a woman" and away from the "toxic climate towards people" "trans" in the United Kingdom.