Sall Grover

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Sall Grover
NationalityAustralian
Alma materBond University
Occupation(s)Journalist, writer, app developer
Known forGiggle, a women's only social media app

Sall Grover is an Australian businesswoman and the founder of Giggle,[1] a social media app designed for women. The app gained notability following a legal challenge concerning the legality of the app's membership policies restricting access to women and other adults assigned female at birth, thereby including all cisgender women, and transgender men,[2] and excluding cisgender men and transgender women.[3][4][5] Prior to this endeavour, Grover worked in the film industry in Australia and in the United States as a production assistant[6] and as a screenwriter.[7][8]

Biography[edit]

Grover grew up on the Gold Coast, Queensland and studied journalism and philosophy at Bond University. She initially worked as a production assistant on a short 2005 film, The Vanished,[6] and as an entertainment journalist—first in Australia, then the UK—before moving to Los Angeles to begin to work in the film industry as a screenwriter. Grover collaborated with Australian screenwriter Emma Jensen who had also moved to Los Angeles. Together they wrote a script for a romantic comedy film titled Sex on the First Date, and a novel, The LA Team, for the purpose of adapting to television.[9][10][11][7] After returning to Australia, Grover founded Giggle for Girls, a social networking app for women, an endeavour that would result in a landmark legal case (see section below). In 2022, she gave birth to a daughter.[12][13] Following the birth, Grover raised the issue concerning the use of gender neutral language in Medicare forms (swapping a field for "mother's name" to "birthing parent") which had been part of a trial used in three hospitals. As a result, Bill Shorten, Minister for Government Services, reversed the naming policy to its previous position.[14][15][16]

Giggle app[edit]

In 2020, Grover founded Giggle for Girls, styled as a mobile app for a women's only social networking site.[17][12] The name, Giggle, is described as a collective noun for women,[13] with the app presented as catering to adult women, offering a safe online space for them to connect and find support in various areas such as finding roommates, freelancing, emotional support, and activism.[13][18] Grover has said she was driven to develop a women's only digital platform by her desire to guard against the advances of predatory men, a view that was informed by her experience with misogyny and sexual violence.[19][20] To verify users, the app relied on technology developed by Kairos, a company that offers facial recognition software.[19][21] Her app was given generally positive reviews, particularly by gender-critical organisations, such as FiLiA,[22] Women's Declaration International (WDI),[23] Cambridge Radical Feminists Network[24] and Meghan Murphy's Feminist Current.[25] By 2021, the app reportedly had 20,000 users from 88 countries.[26][27] However, she decided to shut down the app in July of 2022.[28] Grover has alleged that transgender activists have sent numerous rape threats and death threats in relation to the app's membership policy.[29]

Legal case[edit]

Grover's efforts to create a digital women-only space that excluded transgender women led to legal proceedings to determine the legality of the membership policies used on the platform.[30][31] The case has become known as Tickle v Giggle, which unfolded between 2022 and 2024.[32][26]

  • January 2022: matter brought to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) by Roxanne Tickle, a transgender woman from Lismore, New South Wales[33] who was denied membership of the site.[34] AHRC initially offered conciliation between the parties but those efforts were unsuccessful.[35][17]
  • May 2022: matter filed in the Federal Circuit Court following the complaint.[27][36]
  • July 2022: case was, without explanation, dropped, as Tickle sought to discontinue all of the orders.[37][18]
  • June 2023: application made by Katherine Deves to dismiss the case was rejected.[38]
  • December 2023: case reopened by Tickle.[37][39] Tickle was granted $50,000 from Grata Fund, a not-for-profit legal fund associated with University of New South Wales, to cover costs associated with the case.[40]
  • April 2024: hearing began before Justice Robert Bromwich with Giggle and Grover represented by Bridie Nolan.[41] The court was required to examine the application of the Australian government's 2013 amendments to the 1984 Sex Discrimination Act.[42] The amendments, which relate to gender identity, have not been tested in court prior to this case. The court's decision will determine if the social networking app may be considered as a special measure to advance women's equality under the Sex Discrimination Act, where the exclusion of men is permitted under law.[43] The hearing concluded after several days of arguments and the decision is expected in late 2024.[44]

Responses[edit]

The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) participated in the legal case by sending representatives to the court, including Anna Cody, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner. The Commission's role in the case was extended as a ‘friend of the court’ (amicus curiae) in order to clarify the provisions in Australia's Sex Discrimination Act. While the Commission sought earlier conciliation between the parties, it declined to offer submissions to the case.[35] Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, was asked to provide input in the form of a position paper to the Australian Human Rights Commission. Alsalem's paper discussed the definition of "woman" in international human rights treaties, particularly the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Alsalem argues that while CEDAW does not explicitly define "woman", it refers to biological females and that sex and sex-based discrimination in that context is understood as a biological category.[45] The outcome of the case is viewed as one of great significance to advocates of female-only services and spaces, and for all countries around the world where CEDAW has been ratified.[46] Women's groups supporting Grover's position in the case include LGB Alliance Australia,[47] Women's Forum Australia (WFA),[48] Coalition of Activist Lesbians (CoAL),[49] and Australian Feminists for Women's Rights (AF4WR).[50]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Also known as Giggle for Girls.
  2. ^ "Challenge to women-only app Giggle was no laughing matter." The Australian. 9 July 2022. Accessed 11 April 2024.
  3. ^ Scheuerman, M. K., Pape, M., & Hanna, A. (2021). Auto-essentialization: Gender in automated facial analysis as extended colonial project. Big Data & Society, 8(2), 20539517211053712.
  4. ^ Thieme, K., Saunders, M. A. S., & Ferreira, L. (2024). From language to algorithm: trans and non-binary identities in research on facial and gender recognition. AI and Ethics, 1-18.
  5. ^ Perrett, Connor (2022). "A social media app just for 'females' intentionally excludes trans women." Business Insider. 24 Jan 2022. Accessed 29 March 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Cast and crew." The Vanished (2005 film). Retrieved from www.nathanross.net via Archive.com. Accessed 12 April 2024.
  7. ^ a b Groves, Don (2014). "Aussie writer tackles Shelley, Jane Austen." www.if.com.au. 1 August 2014. Accessed 12 April 2024.
  8. ^ Shanahan, Angela (2022). "Echoes of Orwell in threat to women’s rights and safety." The Australian. 2 April 2022. Accessed 31 Mar 2024.
  9. ^ Both of these efforts appear not to have resulted in a final production.
  10. ^ "Sex and the City of Angels gets nod." Courier Mail. 17 Dec 2010. Accessed 9 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Aussie writer tackles Shelley, Jane Austen" IMDB. Accessed 12 April 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Sall Grover". Savage Minds. 1 December 2022. 0 hours 1 minutes 5 seconds.
  13. ^ a b c Macpherson, Amber (2020)."Giggle app by Main Beach’s Sall Grover connects women across the world." Gold Coast Bulletin. 22 March 2020. Accessed 28 March 2024.
  14. ^ Bourke, Latika (2022)."I was trying to shut down a culture war, Bill Shorten says." Sydney Morning Herald. 25 July 2022. Accessed 5 April 2024.
  15. ^ NCA News Wire (2022). "New mum’s fury over hospital form saying ‘birthing parent’." www.news.com.au. 21 July 2022. Accessed 5 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Bill Shorten intervenes to replace ‘birth parent’ with ‘mother’ on Medicare form." SBS. 21 July 2022. Accessed 9 April 2024.
  17. ^ a b Shanahan, Angela (6 April 2024). "Giggle case serious test of biological reality of women". The Australian.
  18. ^ a b "Australiana: "I'll never stop fighting for women" - Sall Grover on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 22 June 2023. From 0 hours 1 minute 45 seconds to 0 hours 1 minute 45 seconds to. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  19. ^ a b Scheuerman, M. K., Pape, M., & Hanna, A. (2021). Auto-essentialization: Gender in automated facial analysis as extended colonial project. Big Data & Society, 8(2), 20539517211053712.
  20. ^ Kain, M. K. (2020). "Giggle Founder Sall Grover has Faced Misogyny at Every Turn." 4W. 19 Feb 2020. Accessed 29 March 2024.
  21. ^ Perrett, Connor (2022). "A social media app just for 'females' intentionally excludes trans women." Business Insider. 24 Jan 2022. Accessed 29 March 2024.
  22. ^ "FiLiA meets Sall Grover." FiLiA. 21 Jan 2021. Accessed 31 Mar 2024.
  23. ^ "WDI Newsletter." Women's Declaration International. 10 Nov 2021. Accessed 1 April 2024.
  24. ^ "In conversation with Sall Grover: Re-Platforming De-Platformed Women." Cambridge Radical Feminists Network. 15 May 2021. Accessed 31 Mar 2024.
  25. ^ Murphy, Meghan (2022) "Sall Grover wanted to create a female-only app." Feminist Current. 6 Nov 2022. Accessed 28 March 2024.
  26. ^ a b Dumas, Daisy (2024). "Tickle v Giggle: transgender woman sues female-only ‘online refuge’ for alleged discrimination in landmark case." The Guardian. 9 April 2024.
  27. ^ a b Snowden, Angelica (6 July 2022). "Discrimination claims against women-only app dropped". The Australian.
  28. ^ Panagopoulos, Joanna (10 April 2024). "'Evolutionary biologist' to be called in trans defamation case". The Australian.
  29. ^ "Why the Giggle app is for females only." Plebity. 10 March 2021. Accessed 1 April 2024.
  30. ^ Wyatt, Edie (2022)."Tickle vs. Giggle." The Spectator Australia. 4 July 2022. Accessed 28 March 2024.
  31. ^ Lever, Cindy (2022). "‘It’s been hell’: women-only app founder in gender row nightmare." The Australian. 9 July 2022. Accessed 28 March 2024.
  32. ^ Formally, Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd.
  33. ^ Cater, Nick (2024). "Sall Grover’s fight for womankind." Spiked. 13 April 2024. Accessed 14 April 2024.
  34. ^ Australian Associated Press (2022). "Transgender woman sues female only app giggle for girls for alleged discrimination." The Guardian. 31 Dec 2022. Accessed 5 April 2024.
  35. ^ a b "Sex Discrimination Commissioner assists Federal Court in Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd case." Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). 9 April 2024. Accessed 11 April 2024.
  36. ^ "Notice of Filing" (PDF). Federal Court of Australia. 4 May 2022.
  37. ^ a b Snowden, Angelica (9 July 2022). "Clash between trans and women's rights". The Australian.
  38. ^ "Female-only app represented by Katherine Deves fails to throw out transgender discrimination suit". Guardian. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  39. ^ "Roxanne Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd & Anor." Federal Court of Australia. 22 November 2023. Accessed 7 April 2024.
  40. ^ Bastiaan, Stephanie (2024). "Tickle v Giggle womens rights on trial." Women's Forum Australia. April 08, 2024.
  41. ^ Xiao, Allison (2024). "Tickle v Giggle court case kicks off." ABC News. 9 April 2024.
  42. ^ Mackay, Melissa (2024). "Transgender woman Roxanne Tickle seeks $200,000 in damages in first Federal Court case based on gender discrimination." ABC News. 11 April 2024.
  43. ^ "Tickle vs Giggle: in a world where transgender people are under attack, this is a test case for Australia." The Conversation. 12 April 2024. Accessed 12 April 2024.
  44. ^ Sainsbury, Michael (2024). "In Australia, women-only app becomes latest front in war over trans rights." Al Jazeera. 22 April 2024. Accessed 25 April 2024.
  45. ^ Alsalem, Reem (2024). "Position paper on the definition of “woman” in international human rights treaties, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women." Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). 4 April 2024. Accessed 11 April 2024.
  46. ^ Cook, Michael (2024). "Tickle v Giggle: Australian court to decide who are women and who are not." BioEdge. April 11, 2024.
  47. ^ Sall Grover's Landmark Case. LGB Alliance Australia. 6 April 2023. Accessed 29 March 2024.
  48. ^ "Australian federal court to hear landmark case on women's sex-based rights." Women's Forum Australia. 27 April 2023. Accessed 5 April 2024.
  49. ^ "Support Sal Grover (and lesbians) against Tickle’s revenge." Coalition of Activist Lesbians. 4 April 2024. Accessed 5 April 2024.
  50. ^ "Submission to the Federal inquiry on Australia’s Human Rights Framework." Australian Feminists for Women's Rights. Accessed 28 March 2024.
  51. ^ Iveson, K. (2003). Justifying exclusion: The politics of public space and the dispute over access to McIvers ladies' baths, Sydney. Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography, 10(3), 215-228.
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