'Nowhere is safe!' Women's swimming hotspot faces landmark legal battle after letting trans women into water

The gender-critical human rights charity claims the local authority is breaking equality law - and says that letting men who identify as women to swim and undress at the women-only pool is unlawful.

Wednesday's hearing will determine whether the case proceeds to a full trial.

Lawyers representing Sex Matters argue in court documents that there is "clear evidence before the court that women experience or risk experiencing the presence of men in the space for the ladies' pond as a violation of their dignity and privacy, as something that makes them feel vulnerable and at risk, and as something that interferes with their comfort and enjoyment".

Hampstead Heath has three bathing ponds: Kenwood Ladies' Pond, Highgate Men's Pond, and a mixed pond open to all.

The men's pond has been in use since 1893, with the women's following in 1926.

They remain London's only single-sex freshwater swimming facilities.

But in 2019, controversy broke out when the City of London began admitting swimmers based on "self-identified gender" rather than biological sex.

Female swimmers and women's rights campaigners soon raised objections.

In April 2025, the Supreme Court confirmed the definition of men and women under the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex.

But City of London officials have long claimed "trans women are women".

As recently as July, the corporation slapped up signs at the entrance to the ladies' pond which read: "Those who identify as women are welcome to swim at the Kenwood Ladies' Pond.

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QThe ladies’ pond is open to biological women and trans women with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment under the Equality Act 2010."

Sex Matters's chief executive Maya Forstater submitted a witness statement saying the charity had heard from multiple women about their concerns.

Some reported seeing naked trans women with male genitalia in changing rooms and showers.

Others described feeling "violated" by biological males being present in what they considered a women-only safe space.

Several female swimmers have stopped visiting the ladies' pond entirely as a result.

One woman, a 68-year-old disabled pensioner named Frances who had swum there since 1984, said: "I now no longer swim at the ponds as I feel completely unsafe in enclosed spaces when men/naked men are known (and encouraged) to be in the vicinity."

Frances added: "I am short-sighted, so seeing through the steam in the changing rooms in the winter or who is on the meadow in the summer is difficult when I am showering or drying myself. I feel threatened by the known presence of men in our space."

"There is also the constant feeling of fear that nowhere in the pond enclosure is safe as a women's space," she added.

Ms Forstater said: "Women shouldn't have to worry about whether a man in a women-only space is there for nefarious purposes or to affirm his womanly identity. In either case he is breaching her privacy and dignity."

A City of London Corporation spokesman said: "We recognise the sensitivity and complexity of this issue and await the outcome of the permission hearing."

The Corporation said it was looking into its access rules following the Supreme Court ruling and recent public consultation.