The creator of a women-only app who was found guilty of discriminating against a transgender woman has called on fellow Australians to “wake up” to the erosion of women’s rights as she prepares to appeal the decision.
Sall Grover, the founder of the Giggle for Girls app, lost a federal court case last month brought by transgender woman Roxanne Tickle.
Ms Grover had banned the 54-year-old from using her app in 2021 because she argued he was biologically male.
This was despite Ms Tickle having lived as a woman since 2017, undergoing gender-affirming surgery two years later and changing her sex to “female” on a new birth certificate.
Judge Robert Bromwich found that Ms Tickle had suffered indirect discrimination and ordered Ms Grover to pay her $10,000 (a fraction of the $200,000 she was claiming in damages) and cover her legal costs.
Now Ms Grover has hit out at her opponent and issued a stark warning to all Australians.
“They’re forcing you to believe that men are women and if they can force you to believe that, they can force you to believe anything,” Grover told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Politicians can’t campaign to end violence against women and try to look good when they are literally imposing laws so that women can’t say “no” to men.’
Sall Grover (pictured), founder of the Giggle for Girls app, is set to take the controversial question of “what is a woman?” to the High Court.
“Women should be allowed to say no. It’s that simple.”
At the heart of the case is the controversial question of what defines a woman.
Last year, when journalist Piers Morgan asked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese what a woman was, he was told, controversially, “A grown woman.”
For Grover, sex is a biological reality that is assigned at birth and cannot be changed. She is pushing for that to be enshrined in sex discrimination law.
Ms Tickle’s legal team argued that sex and gender identity were not binary categories, but were partly social and psychological.
Ultimately, Judge Bromwich agreed, finding that the argument put forward by Ms Grover’s legal team…conflicts with a long history of court-decided cases dating back more than 30 years.
“These cases establish that, in its ordinary meaning, sex is changeable,” he said.
However, Mrs. Grover is undaunted.
Judge Robert Bromwich found that Roxanne Tickle (pictured) had suffered indirect discrimination as a result of being banned from the Giggle for Girls app. He ordered Grover to pay her $10,000 (a fraction of the $200,000 she was claiming in damages) and to cover her legal costs.
“The question ‘what is a woman’ is a very important one that should be decided by a single judge,” she said.
“It has to go to the High Court because we are dealing with legislation.”
Ms. Grover is set to file her appeal in the first week of October, and has bolstered her legal team with the addition of a well-known KC whose identity she is keeping secret.
So far, she has raised more than $150,000 of an $800,000 goal for the grueling legal fight.
But she’s in this for the long haul, hoping it will last until 2026.
“Women’s rights have been slowly crumbling behind the scenes and have not received any attention,” she said.
‘It is now that we have reached a point where I and many other women have simply said ‘no, enough is enough’.
“I’m inundated with messages from ordinary Australians saying, ‘I have no idea this is happening, it’s outrageous.'”
‘When Australians wake up and realise what’s going on, especially parents, they are outraged and want to get involved.’
Ms Grover will file her appeal in the first week of October and has strengthened her legal team with the addition of a renowned KC whose identity she is keeping secret.
Ms Grover said she remains committed to creating a women-only app that excludes transgender women (pictured: the Giggle app)
Ms Grover is particularly outraged by comments her opponent made after Judge Bromwich handed down the verdict.
Speaking to reporters on the steps of the court, Ms Tickle said she hoped the outcome would offer “healing for trans and gender diverse people”.
“I came forward to show trans people that you can be brave and stand up for yourself,” she said.
“I know I can now move on with the rest of my life, have a coffee on the street with my friends, play hockey with my team and put this atrocity behind me.”
Ms Grover, who refuses to use female pronouns when referring to Ms Tickle, said the comments were “a complete slap in the face”.
Despite the court ruling, Grover said she remains committed to creating a women-only app that will prohibit access to transgender women.
“I wanted to fight back because I don’t just want to run a women’s space, I want to be able to go to women’s spaces. I want women’s rights.
‘We have to make decisions about whether the app will move overseas and not be available to Australian women.
“Basically, it would mean that an Australian business for women would literally be driven out of the country.”
Ms Grover reserves particular ire for Labor politicians such as Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, who this week dismissed One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s bill seeking to recognise biological reality.
“We know how vulnerable the gender-diverse community is, we know their difficulties, we do not believe that the Senate is a qualified place for that debate,” said Senator Gallagher.
‘That debate should take place at home, with friends, with health professionals who are trying to guide some of these difficult decisions for the young people of this country.’
Ms Grover said it was incredible that Senator Gallagher was also Minister for Women.
‘She was saying that the Senate is not equipped to have a debate on this and you think: What the hell is it for then?
Roxanne Tickle (pictured left) has been using her platform to campaign for transgender rights. She said outside court that she was looking forward to “getting on with the rest of my life and having a coffee in the street with my friends, playing hockey with my team and putting this atrocity behind me.”
Ms Grover, who refuses to use female pronouns when referring to Ms Tickle, said the comments were a “total slap in the face”.
“It’s an absurd claim, we’re talking about legislation. It’s something that needs to be discussed with legislators. It’s literally their job.”
Ms. Grover had a stark warning for other protected groups in society.
“I think women are the canary in the coal mine here because obviously we are the first to be affected,” she said.
‘But I think that the LGBTQ+ organizations that are celebrating this victory are going to have to explain to their gay men, to their male members, that they too cannot have spaces for gay men now.
“It doesn’t seem like it occurred to them or they’re just fooling everyone. They’re turkeys voting for Christmas.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Tickle for comment.
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