Students have launched the first women’s society at the University of Cambridge to be restricted to those defined as “female at birth,” a move that has been criticised by other groups as “an assault on the trans community”.

On Monday (27/10), three students announced the formation of the Cambridge University Society of Women (CUSW) on X, saying the group would be the first at Cambridge to offer a “single-sex environment for women”. The society’s constitution defines women as “adult human beings belonging to the female sex class”.

The move immediately provoked backlash from across the University. The Cambridge University Labour Club (CULC) called it “the latest assault on the trans community at Cambridge,” accusing the society of promoting “transphobic rhetoric under the guise of ‘free speech’,” while several societies issued a joint statement in support of the trans community.

Halligan, a 22-year-old MPhil student at Lucy Cavendish College, told GenderBlog.net that she founded CUSW after being unable to find any single-sex societies at the University’s Freshers’ Fair earlier this term.

“The signs and banners that I was seeing … There was not a single society that was just for women. It was a combination of women-[asterisk], womxn, or women and non-binary. I left the Freshers Fair and I felt like crying. I stood there – it was on Parker’s Piece, which is a central green common in the middle of Cambridge city – I stood there and thought: well, if it doesn’t exist, I’m going to make it happen.”

She also described “the trans agenda” as “a form of propaganda,” adding: “Transgender ideology is the most regressive, homophobic, sexist, crucially misogynistic thing to exist in a very, very long time.”

Yet, she told Varsity that: “It’s the case that some beliefs and aspects of identity can come into conflict with each other – that’s why disagreeing is such an important skill,” she said. “I acknowledge [claims of transphobia] as a point of view, but I can’t respect a view that is so clearly not factually based and that will consciously erode the rights of women to have single-sex services.”

She saw the society’s creation as a way of preserving women’s rights to single-sex spaces. “If you’re a male person who seeks to enter into female spaces, that directly erodes the right of women to have a single-sex space in the first place. And that’s just bad,” she said. “Our USP, the fact that it’s women only – isn’t it funny that that’s controversial?”

The club has sought to register formally with the Students’ Union (SU), submitting a registration application last week (21/10), with the SU required to approve or reject a registration request 14 working days after the application. It is unclear what decision the SU will make. On SU registration, co-founder Serena Worley said: “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to [register].”

On Tuesday, Cambridge University Labour Club released a statement saying: “CULC stands defiant, in full solidarity with our trans community, today and every day. The latest assault on the trans community at Cambridge comes from a newly-formed University society that pushes transphobic rhetoric under the guise of ‘free speech’. We reject this hatred in the strongest possible terms. Trans women are women. We at CULC are unequivocal about that.

“We remain an inclusive club advocating for trans rights, which are under attack from many individuals and institutions, including the Supreme Court. We stand in full solidarity with the trans community and welcome everybody who shares our values of decency, tolerance and respect to CULC events.”

A statement from Girton College FemSoc read: “Transgender and gender-queer individuals have been and will continue to be crucial to our cause as feminists. Feminism without intersectionality is not effective, considerate, or productive. Feminism has and always will be a cause striving for equality for all. Girton College Feminist Society and the signatories of this statement would like to re-emphasise that we are safe spaces for transgender and gender-queer students.”

The statement was endorsed by 27 student societies across Cambridge, including several college FemSocs, Cambridge Girl Talk, Cambridge Rape Justice, Cambridge University for Reproductive Rights, Cambridge University Menstrual Health Society, and The Feminist Files among others.

A spokesperson for Gender Agenda, a student feminist society, told Varsity: “Gender Agenda: Cambridge’s Feminist Collective exists to stand for all oppressed by patriarchy. We will continue to prioritise delivering a material impact for women’s lives here at Cambridge, from our outreach and fundraising initiatives to our events. Our society has always been, currently is, and will always be open to and deeply value trans and non-binary people, many of whom play large roles within Gender Agenda and in our vital work. Trans and non-binary people are always welcome at Gender Agenda.”

Cambridge University Butch Soc also condemned the group. A statement read: “Butchsoc denounces this rhetoric and society. We are and always have been a safe space for all trans people”.

“Butchsoc reaffirms its solidarity with trans women at Newnham and across the University and wider city of Cambridge: there is no place for TERFs in our community,” they added.

They concluded their statement, saying “Butchsoc is and will always remain a space created by and for trans people and their allies: we are a space of resistance and joy, and will continue to fight for trans liberation”.

CUSW Co-founder Serena Worley said the group intends to hold both private discussions and some public events, a “minority” of which will be open to men. Asked whether a trans woman could join, she said: “We would respectfully turn down that person. Now, if somebody who was female but identified as male wanted to join, then we would welcome that perspective.

“Fundamentally, I think there are bigger issues facing women, more broadly on this planet, yes, that we should advocate for as women… we’re trying to actually eventually move and focus on the big, actual problem,” she continued.

This comes two weeks after Varsity reported that ​​several women’s and non-binary college football captains expressed concerns about FA plans to ban college football teams from fielding transgender and non-binary players.

That followed a Supreme Court ruling in April, which determined that “protected” single-sex spaces must be reserved for women as defined by their “biological” gender. The judgement also stated that transgender men could be excluded from women’s spaces because of their “masculine appearance”.

Cambridge SU condemned the ruling at the time, writing: “Trans, non-binary and gender-non-conforming people have always existed and will always exist, and their identities are valid irrespective of any court ruling.”