Girlguiding U-turns on trans Supreme Court ruling as biological boys forced to leave within months

The charity say the timeframe will allow "affected members and their families time to plan, prepare, access support, and decide when – between now and September – they feel ready to leave."

A full statement from Girlguiding reads: "Following the Supreme Court decision last year relating to sex and gender, Girlguiding’s board of trustees confirmed that trans girls and young women, from December 2 2025, would no longer be able to join Girlguiding.

"This decision was made to make sure we were operating lawfully and follow our governing charity documents, which affect how our membership eligibility is defined.

"Today, Girlguiding shared further operational information with our members about the timings for this change.

"The update explained that current young members who are trans girls can stay with Girlguiding until September 6 2026.

"This allows affected members and their families time to plan, prepare, access support, and decide when – between now and September – they feel ready to leave.

"Any trans girl or trans woman who is currently volunteering in a role open to women only will need to move to a role that is open to all volunteers by September 6 2026."

Girlguiding insisted it remains "committed to standing up for the rights, safety and dignity of girls and women, and to supporting marginalised communities, including LGBTQ+ people, to improve the lives of girls".

It also called for guidance on single-sex spaces to be "clear, workable and informed by the voices of young people and volunteering organisations, to ensure that the wellbeing of all girls remains at its heart".

Campaign group Trans+ Solidarity Alliance described the news as "heartbreaking" for children.

"Inclusive organisations being bullied into excluding people against their will is a profound failure of this Government to live up to its promises to the trans community," the group said.

"This news will be heartbreaking for the children and volunteer leaders that hold Girlguiding together, to fix a problem that doesn’t exist without anti-trans lawfare."

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on April 16, 2025, that the terms "woman" and "sex" in the Equality Act 2010 refer to "a biological woman and biological sex".

But the charity, which is the UK's largest girl-only youth organisation, had originally told volunteers that they should sideline the judgement, according to reports.

And despite the Supreme Court ruling, Girlguiding told GB News last year they were "proud to be a trans-inclusive organisation".

But by December, the organisation confirmed they had made the "difficult decision" to announce that transgender girls will no longer be permitted to join as new members - some eight months after the judgement.

Members, of which there are an estimated 300,000, can range from between four and 18 years-old across Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers groups within Girgluiding.

There is an additional 80,000 volunteers.

They had previously stated they do not collect gender identity records, and therefore the number of those affected by the changes is unknown.

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter