Roxanne Tickle speaks out after groundbreaking victory on ‘what is a woman’

Key points

The Giggle for Girls app was advertised as a “safe space” exclusively for women and encouraged them to connect online.
Roxanne Tickle, who is a transgender woman, was banned from the app in September 2021.
A judge found the ban constituted unlawful discrimination and ordered the app and its founder to pay $10,000.

Roxanne Tickle is happy her legal battle over a ban on a women-only app is over, saying it “stole the last three years” of her life.

Tickle, a transgender woman, emerged victorious from her lawsuit after a judge ruled Friday that blocking her access to the Giggle for Girls app constituted unlawful discrimination.

The landmark gender identity case, in which Tickle was found to have been the victim of indirect discrimination, was the first time the Federal Court had addressed the issue of gender identity discrimination.

“The indirect discrimination claims were successful because Ms Tickle was excluded from using the Giggle app because she did not appear sufficiently feminine to the respondents,” said Judge Robert Bromwich.

The Giggle for Girls app and its founder Sall Grover have been ordered to pay $10,000 in damages and legal fees — though that decision is subject to appeal.

“I burst into tears”

The court heard that Tickle had undergone gender reassignment surgery and hormone treatment, presented herself as a woman to family, friends and employers and used women’s changing rooms and shops.

In September 2021, she was blocked from using the Giggle app because of her gender, even though her birth certificate shows she is female, the court was told during earlier proceedings. .

As she goes outside, a woman wipes her eyes with a handkerchief.

Roxanne Tickle leaves the Federal Court of Australia on Friday. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins

Speaking in the Federal Court in Sydney on Friday after the decision was announced, Tickle said she was generally able to be herself and live a normal life.

“But a small group of people took it upon themselves to say that I was not who I thought I was and decided to make my life miserable,” she said.

“This case and the unlawful and discriminatory exclusion from Giggle have stolen the last three years of my life.”

She said transgender and gender nonconforming people often fall victim to “hatred and vitriol because of who they are.”

“Sometimes it’s hard to remember that not all people are like that,” she said.

Tickle became emotional as she described how she felt when she learned Tuesday that a decision in the case would be made this week.

“I burst into tears at different moments because I knew it would all be over soon,” she said, her voice breaking.

A smartphone with an open application that displays a photo of a smiling woman with text "talk freely only women".

Giggle for Girls closed while the case went to court. Source: AAP / Paul Braven

She said the ruling shows that “all women are protected from discrimination.”

“I brought my case to show transgender people that it’s okay to be brave and stand up for yourself,” Tickle said.

“I know that now I can move on with my life… and leave all this horror behind.”

Giggle for Girls Founder Reacts

The Queensland legislation, which was echoed across the country, reinforced the legal precedent that “gender in its modern, ordinary sense is mutable”, .

“The finding that Ms Tickle is correctly described as a woman, reinforcing her gender identity status for the purposes of these proceedings and therefore for the purposes of bringing her present claim for gender identity discrimination, is legally unassailable.”

However, the judge declined to order an apology, noting that such statements would be “gritted-teeth and completely devoid of candor” due to Grover’s sincere beliefs about sex and gender identity.

The court heard Grover created the Giggle app as a “safe space” for women to interact with each other, free from male patterns of online violence.

The application was removed while the case was pending in court.

A woman talks to a journalist as she walks outside.

Giggle for Girls founder Sall Grover leaves the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney on Friday. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins

Despite making her intentions clear to the court, she would not bring Giggle back unless she was allowed to exclude transgender women. Grover told reporters she now plans to bring it back.

She avoided answering the question of whether Tickle deserved an apology.

“Unfortunately, this is the verdict we expected and the fight for women’s rights in Australia continues,” Grover said.

The settlement amount is a fraction of the $200,000 Tickle was seeking, half of which came from a dismissed claim for aggravated damages.

The claim was based on an online campaign Grover allegedly waged against her, primarily on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Giggle’s barrister argued that as Tickle is a man, her exclusion from the application was lawful under the Sex Discrimination Act, adding that the proceedings concerned the issue of “what is a woman”.

The court heard that Grover persistently misgendered Tickle in media interviews and in hundreds of posts about the case to her 93,000 online followers.

“Laws exist to protect us all”

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody said the ruling sent a message that Australia wanted an “inclusive society where all can participate”, including transgender people.

She dismissed a reporter’s suggestion that the decision would change the definition of femininity and allow men into women-only spaces.

“The judge said there is 30 years of legal precedent … that ‘women’ includes transgender women,” Cody said.

“It’s not a new or groundbreaking decision in that sense — it’s a recognition … that it’s part of our law.”

Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown said Judge Bromwich had “interpreted the law sensibly”.

“This judgment confirms that anti-discrimination laws exist to protect us all, especially groups like transgender women who have experienced historic exclusion and disadvantage,” Brown said in a statement.

“The ruling also confirms that gender identity as a protected ground of discrimination is constitutional.”

LGBTIQ+ Australians seeking mental health support can contact QLife on 1800 184 527 or visit their website . also has a list of support services.

Intersex Australians seeking support can visit Intersex Peer Support Australia at isupport.org.au