Key Facts

• Roxanne Tickle, a transgender woman, was denied access to the Giggle for Girls app in 2021 after submitting a selfie.
• The federal court ruled this denial was direct discrimination based on her gender identity.
• Tickle experienced two separate acts of discrimination: initial exclusion and refusal of re-admission.
• The court’s decision is based on the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, which protects against gender identity discrimination.
• Tickle has lived as a woman since 2017 and has legal and medical recognition of her female gender.
• The app’s founder, Sall Grover, argued the app was a “women-only safe space” and a “special measure” under the law to protect women.
• The court doubled Tickle’s damages from $10,000 to $20,000 and ordered Giggle and Grover to pay up to $50,000 in legal costs.
• This is the first case about gender identity discrimination to reach the federal court in Australia and could affect policies in public spaces globally.