Trans youth stage die-in outside Supreme Court

SUPREME COURT, 27th July 2025, 1:30pm— 12 young trans activists from Trans Kids Deserve Better held a coffin procession from the Department of Health and Social Care to the Supreme Court, where they staged a die-in.

6 activists carried the coffin, which read "dignity". This represented the loss faced by the recent Supreme Court ruling that claims the legal definition of "woman" to refer only to birth sex, not real gender. This ruling continues to ban trans people from "single-sex spaces"; it legitimises and gives an excuse for the physical and emotional abuse of trans people across the UK. The rest of the activists carried flowers in a procession behind the coffin as they walked to the Supreme Court, with 2 waving flag poles. They were all dressed in black in mourning.

The activists aimed to highlight the removal of trans people's basic dignity by the recent Supreme Court ruling, as well as the dignity of trans children by the actions of Wes Streeting as health secretary. Trans people, especially trans kids, are rarely consulted and never listened to in decisions made about us: not the Cass Review, not the puberty blocker ban, not the Supreme Court ruling. Our dignity is dead. Our autonomy is dead. They will not let us in the room so we die outside of it.

When they reached the Supreme Court, the activists placed the coffin in front of the building, then dropped to the ground as if dead. They stayed there for 30 minutes.

At the end of the die-in, Imogen said:

"Here lies the trans kids this government said they care about. We gather in grief and rage to remember the trans kids who were told they mattered, until they were asked to be heard. We were promised safety, autonomy and a voice, but our dignity is dead.

We were told by politicans and leaders that our lives had value, that 'the government cares', and that our futures are worth protecting. But under the pressure of political convenience and fear mongering, those promises cracked.

We remember these kids, not as statistics on some research paper, not at a political debate, but as people. As kids. Some were shy, some were bold. Some had just found their name while others were still searching. They played video games and drew doodles in class when they should've been listening. They had favourite colours and inside jokes. Some had crushes they didn’t know how to talk about yet They were, in every way that mattered, full of life. They asked for the bare minimum. The right to healthcare, the right to be heard, the right to live happily. We were promised a world full of compassion but we were met with cruelty disguised as concern for our well-being. Their leaders and representatives claim to protect them but pass legislation to erase us. Schools say they care but punished them when they called out injustice. The same hands that waved pride flags are cutting funding, restricting care and silencing us. To the trans kids we lost; you should be here. You were failed by leaders who made false promises, claiming to care while writing us out of existence. We mourn not only a decision, but the dignity and safety of countless trans children across this country. With the stroke of a pen, the Supreme Court has turned its back on some of the most vulnerable among us, those simply seeking to live as their true selves. This ruling is more than legal text; it is a message of exclusion, a denial of identity, and a source of fear for families already fighting to protect their children. In this moment, we grieve the loss of justice, of affirmation, and of the promise that every child deserves to grow up feeling seen, supported, and free. But we are not here to just mourn. We are here to demand. We are DONE asking. We are DONE pleading. We are DONE watching politicians trade our lives for votes. Their inaction, their words, and more importantly their silence have consequences and we WILL NOT let them pretend otherwise. We will fight for the trans kids who are alive today but might not be tomorrow. We will fight for the next generation of trans kids and in the name of every child who deserved a future. We will protest. We will protect. We will organise and we WILL outlast them. To every trans kid out there: we are NOT giving up and we WILL NOT let them bury your truth in shame or bureaucracy! To the ones we lost: your names are not forgotten. They are a battle cry! We are not done. Not even close. TRANS KIDS DESERVE BETTER!"

Find footage and photos here.