British trans woman ‘more afraid than ever to leave the house’ after Supreme Court ruling aims for Thailand move

A British trans woman is planning to flee the UK amid fears for her safety after the country’s highest court ruled the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer to a biological woman and biological sex.

Alexis Solia, 30, said she has endured years of physical and verbal abuse when simply trying to go about her daily life.

Alexis, a content creator and activist from London, said that last month’s Supreme Court ruling was “the straw that broke the camel’s back” and has left her feeling “more afraid than ever to leave the house”.

In April, five justices at the UK’s highest court unanimously ruled that a gender recognition certificate does not change a trans person’s legal sex under the Equality Act – this could have far-reaching implications for who can access single-sex services and spaces.

Alexis said the decision has already worsened peoples’ view of the trans community and she hopes Thailand will offer a better quality of life with its culture of trans inclusion, despite lacking full legal support for ID changes.

A director at TransActual, a national organisation which focuses on legal protection and healthcare for trans people, spoke of a rise in people looking to leave the UK, adding there had been “a rise in violent vigilante attacks on trans people” following the Supreme Court ruling.

“It’s terrifying and I’m exhausted by the constant scrutiny of our bodies, the obsession with our genitals and the punishment we face simply for existing,” Alexis told PA Real Life.

“For trans women, it means that we will face more discrimination and people will have more ammunition to discriminate against us.

“It is almost like a letter to say you are not allowed in society anymore.”

Like many trans people in the UK, Alexis faced anti-trans sentiment and administrative challenges before the Supreme Court ruling.

In the past four years, she said she has been physically and sexually assaulted.

“In pubs, men will come up to me randomly and put their hand up my skirt,” she said.

“Taxi drivers have asked me what’s between my legs when I’m just minding my own business.

“In restaurants, people purposely misgender me by saying ‘hello sir’ to upset me. It’s becoming more frequent and I don’t experience that in any other country.

“One woman came up to me politely and complimented my hair, then in the next breath said ‘it’s not your hair, you’re a f***ing man’, then pulled my hair and tried to hit me so I had to push her off me.

“But there can almost be a validation that it was our fault, as trans women are seen as hyper-sexualised. It’s like we don’t deserve that type of empathy.”

Alexis highlighted how a big talking point throughout the trans debate has been “this belief that lots of us will go into toilets and sexually attack women”.

But she argued that many trans women “aren’t even attracted to women” and are “not a threat”, using hormone treatments which lower testosterone levels and reduce sex drive.

“And there are risks the other way around,” she added.

“It is really odd for a trans woman who feels and looks like a woman to use a men’s toilet if there is no disabled toilet available.

“This opens us up to violence and it means we are going to be more vulnerable to attacks and sexual assault.”

This “policing of women”, Alexis believes, is due to rising misogyny which she links to the rise in crime against women.

A report from the National Audit Office revealed earlier this year that “In 2023-24 the prevalence of sexual assault against women aged 16 to 59 in England and Wales (the percentage of the population estimated to have suffered a sexual assault each year) was higher than in 2009-10 (4.3% and 3.4%
respectively)”.

It added: “Over the same period incidents of rape and sexual assault against women and girls recorded by police have increased almost fourfold, from 34,000 to 123,000, although this can in part be explained by improved recording of these crimes.”

“Some women are celebrating the policing and the control of women but it’s an indication of rising misogyny,” Alexis added.

“It’s cracking down on women and I think it comes from men having too much power.

“Trans misogyny is real and when it rises, it’s usually an indication that there is a rising misogyny in general.”

A director at TransActual, Jane Fae, commented: “There has been a significant rise in individuals seeking to leave the UK.

“Also a rise in violent vigilante attacks on trans people which began just hours following the Supreme Court ruling.

“Stress, mental health issues and suicide ideation are off the scale.”

Feeling “very unprotected”, Alexis hopes to move to Chiang Mai in Thailand this summer after attending London Gay Pride in July.

She first considered the move last year and is now taking action following the Supreme Court ruling.

There she hopes to rest, heal and enjoy a better quality of life due to the country’s lower cost of living, as well as access affordable healthcare services and gender-affirming care.

This includes hormone blockers, possible laser treatment, and potential surgery.

“I’m tired of proving myself when this is who I really am,” she said.

“We are just people. I just want to go about my daily life and be left alone.

“In Thailand, there is not the same bureaucracy and hurdles for trans people accessing gender-affirming care.

“The country isn’t 100% safe for trans women but at the same time, the culture is more accepting and living costs are much lower.”

To support her moving costs, Alexis has launched a fundraiser and has so far raised almost half of her £5,000 target.

“Seeing the support brought me to tears and made me feel overwhelmed with kindness,” she said.

“One person gave £1,000 which was an extremely generous and heartwarming thing to see.

“It reminds me that there are still good people in society.”

A link to Alexis’s fundraiser can be found here: www.gofundme.com/f/support-a-transwomen.