<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A "women-only" </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/social-media" rel="" target="" title="social media"><span>social media</span></a><span> app has failed to overturn a finding it discriminated against a transgender user, paving the way for a gender identity battle in the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/courts" rel="" target="" title="High Court"><span>High Court</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Giggle for Girls app founder Sall Grover had attempted to appeal a 2024 decision which found Roxanne Tickle suffered indirect discrimination and ordered Grover to pay $10,000 in compensation and legal costs.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was the first time the Federal Court had weighed into gender identity discrimination.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/pcos-pmos-name-change-2026-australian-women-fight-for-condition-to-be-renamed/c971014b-74af-4c13-b637-4c23a65817ad" target="_blank"><strong><span>Melbourne woman Lorna's chronically-misdiagnosed illness now has a new name</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a decision handed down by the full bench today, Justice Melissa Perry told the court Giggle and Grover excluded Tickle from the Giggle app on the basis of her gender-related appearance by reference to her selfie.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This amounted to direct discrimination by reference to a characteristic that pertains to people of Ms Tickle's gender identity," Justice Perry told the court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The judges also ruled to reassess damages awarded by the court, increasing the amount to be paid to Tickle to $20,000.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/giggle-v-tickle-transgender-ban-from-womenonly-app-remains-unlawful/bc897f1c-ab43-4847-b7fd-7f8af8b19737" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Tickle was blocked from the Giggle app in September 2021 on the basis of her gender, despite a birth certificate listing her as female, the court was told during a series of often-heated hearings in April 2024.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Giggle's barrister Bridie Nolan claimed Tickle was a man so it was lawful to exclude her from the app because of provisions in the Sex Discrimination Act.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/pauline-hanson-policies-stance-on-immigration-housing-voting-record-explained/1a21d57d-cddd-4ba5-b1ce-0b564e205b79" target="_blank"><strong><span>One Nation's popularity is surging. But what does Pauline Hanson's party actually stand for?</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Tickle had undergone gender-affirming surgery and hormone treatments, identified as a woman with her family, friends and at work, and used women's change rooms and shops in women's clothing departments, her lawyer Georgina Costello said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She had sought $200,000 in compensation, half of which was based on aggravated damages after an online campaign waged by Grover.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The court was told Grover had persistently misgendered Tickle in media interviews and across hundreds of posts about the case made to her 93,000 online followers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This resulted in an "enormous" amount of hate directed to Tickle, Costello said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>During an appeal hearing in August, lawyers for the app argued it was a "special measure" exempt from discrimination law because it sought to achieve substantial equality between men and women.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Its intention was to create a "safe space" for women, Grover's lawyers said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But this was challenged by lawyers from the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, who argued "invidious discrimination" could be permitted to take place under the guise of a special measure.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong></strong><a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/"><strong><span>Lifeline 13 11 14</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Fullstop Australia 1800 385 578</span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY: </span></strong><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><p><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via </span></strong><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727"><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></a><strong><span> and </span></strong><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1"><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></a></p></li><li><p><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by </span></strong><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w"><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></a></p></li></ul></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><span>Sign up to </span></strong><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></a><strong></strong></li></ul></div></div>