A female Labour MP has expressed her fears about being "challenged" in women's toilets after last week's Supreme Court ruling impacting trans women.
Kate Osborne, Labour MP for Jarrow & Gateshead East, raised her concerns during a Lesbian Visibility Week debate in Westminster Hall.
The hard-left Labour MP described the Supreme Court ruling as a "step backwards" after it decided that the terms "woman" and "sex" in the 2010 Equality Act "refer to a biological woman and biological sex".
Osborne, who identifies as a lesbian, also opened up on how the court's decision could have a "huge impact" on her life.
Osborne, who identifies as a lesbian, said the court decision would have a 'huge impact' on her life
PA"I note that Ministers said yesterday that there will be guidance regarding the Supreme Court verdict," Osborne said.
"That decision will have a huge impact on my life, on many other cis lesbians and, indeed, on heterosexual women. I suspect that I will get challenged even more now when accessing facilities."
The Labour MP, who claimed she has even been misgendered in the House of Commons, added that while the impact on her life would be "problematic", the consequences for transgender people would be "significantly worse".
Osborne added: "As a woman, a lesbian, a feminist and a proud dyke, the Supreme Court judgment, for me, is a step backwards. The court should not be telling me what a lesbian is or is not or how I should identify."
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She emphasised the need for empathy in supporting people to live their own lives.
"Of course, we need to protect single-sex spaces in the very limited situations that they are needed -- which is, and was already, covered in legislation and has never been disputed -- while maintaining clear protections for trans people, especially trans women," she said.
Osborne who is affiliated with the Socialist Campaign Group, expressed concern about attacks on "an already marginalised community" and using law to "increase discrimination, not prevent it".
Labour Minister Dame Nia Griffith responded during the debate, saying: "To be seen, known and accepted for who we are truly is not just a privilege, it's a fundamental human need."
Protests against Supreme Court Ruling
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She described prejudice against trans women as "absolutely horrific, uncalled for, unjustified".
"This Government is clear - trans people deserve safety, they deserve opportunity, they deserve respect," the Llanelli MP added.
She also assured that protections remain in place for transgender people despite the ruling.
"Trans people will still be protected on the basis of gender reassignment, a protected characteristic," the Minister concluded.
