British Transport Police updates strip search policy after Supreme Court ruling

Following a landmark UK Supreme Court ruling clarifying that the definitions of 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex, the British Transport Police (BTP) has announced an interim change to its strip search policy. Now, detainees will be searched according to their birth sex rather than their gender identity, meaning trans women in custody will be searched by male officers. Additionally, trans women officers will no longer be permitted to conduct intimate searches on female detainees. The BTP stated that this interim position will remain as the force reviews the judgment's implications and considers updates to its policies. This change comes amid heightened scrutiny and legal challenges over previous guidance that allowed searches based on acquired gender, with campaigners raising concerns about privacy and safety. The Supreme Court's ruling is expected to have broad consequences for how single-sex spaces and rights are interpreted across the UK.