Girlguiding tells trans girls they must leave by early September

Transgender girls must leave Girlguiding by early September, the organisation has told its members.

The move follows an announcement in December, stating that transgender girls would no longer be able to join the organisation, as it confirmed it was limiting its membership to “girls and young women”.

Described by Girlguiding at the time as a “difficult decision”, it came almost eight months after the April 2025 Supreme Court ruling, which said the words “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.

Girlguiding said that since that ruling, it had undertaken “detailed considerations, expert legal advice and input from senior members, young members”, its council and board of trustees.

In an update on Tuesday, the organisation said trans girls who are members can stay until September 6.

It added that any trans girl or trans woman who is currently volunteering in a role open to women only will be required to move by this date to a position that is open to male or females.

In a statement, Girlguiding said the time between now and September 6 “allows affected members and their families time to plan, prepare, access support, and decide when – between now and September – they feel ready to leave”.

Members can range in age from four to 18 and there are currently around 300,000 across the Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers groups within Girlguiding, as well as around 80,000 volunteers.

The organisation has previously said it does not collect gender identity information on its members and therefore does not have numbers for how many might be affected by the rule change.