UN expert urges restriction on transgender athletes in women’s sports

A United Nations-appointed human rights expert, Reem Alsalem, will advocate for restricting women’s sports to athletes born female at the UN General Assembly next week.

Alsalem, the special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, expressed concerns about physical dangers and unfair advantages posed by transgender women or athletes with higher testosterone levels.

The report of the UN official stresses that separate categories for females ensure equal, fair, and safe opportunities in sports. “Sports have functioned on the universally recognised principle that a separate category for females is needed,” it states.

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Alsalem recommends authorities ensure female categories are exclusively accessible to biological females. In uncertain cases, she suggests dignified and non-invasive sex screening methods.

“Sports have functioned on the universally recognised principle that a separate category for females is needed to ensure equal, fair and safe opportunities in sports,” the special rapporteur’s report says.

“Multiple studies offer evidence that athletes born male have proven performance advantages in sport throughout their lives, although this is most apparent after puberty.

“Undermining the eligibility criteria for single-sex sports results in unfair, unlawful and extreme forms of discrimination against female athletes on the basis of sex.”

“In order to ensure safety and fairness in sport at all levels,” Ms Alsalem’s report pointed out that  they should “ensure that female categories in organised sport are exclusively accessible to persons whose biological sex is female”.

The report added: “In cases where the sex of an athlete is unknown or uncertain, a dignified, swift, non-invasive and accurate sex screening method (such as a cheek swab) or, where necessary for exceptional reasons, genetic testing should be applied to confirm the athlete’s sex.”

The report’s findings aim to influence state and sports policies, addressing a complex issue dividing the sports community.