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March 31, 2023
World Athletics has been condemned by transgender athletes and advocacy organizations on its recent vote to ban transgender women from participating in elite female world-ranking competitions. The governing body’s decision will take effect starting today, which also happens to be Transgender Day of Visibility – a day dedicated to celebrating trans and non-binary people and raising awareness of discrimination.
World Athletics released new eligibility criteria that will exclude any transgender woman who’s undergone male puberty from participating in elite athletics competitions, including track and field, cross-country running, road running, race walking, mountain running and ultra running. The governing body stated the move was made to “protect the future of the female category” although it also acknowledged that there are currently no trans athletes competing internationally.
“It is so disappointing to see World Athletics announce a unilateral ban on trans women in track and field events,” said UK LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall in a statement. “Their own statement recognizes that there are no trans women competing at an international level and that they have no specific evidence to justify the ban. We stand with trans people who now have the door closed on their chance to compete in athletic sports at an international level.”
For athletes with intersex traits, the new regulations will require them to reduce their testosterone levels below a limit of 2.5 nmol/L for a minimum of 24 months to compete internationally in the female category in any event, not just the events that were restricted (400m to one mile) under the previous regulations.
The decision has been met with tremendous backlash from the trans and LGBTQ+ community, as well as many in the general public but supported by others including sportswomen who see the move as “a win for fairness.” TransAthlete.com Founder and Beyond Sport Ambassador, Chris Mosier has been a long advocate for trans rights and athletes. He took to Twitter to share his beliefs that the ban will not only prohibit trans women from doing what they love but also prevent trans youth from enjoying sport.
He continued, “World Athletics’ decision to ban all transgender women and place harsh restrictions on athletes with intersex variations does not protect the integrity of women’s sports and only furthers the policing of women’s bodies… The real impact will be felt by youth athletes around the world who are now unable to pursue their athletic dream and who are bombarded with messages from sports organizations and lawmakers telling them they don’t deserve the same opportunities as their peers to experience the joys of sport.”
The two-time national champion and Team USA multisport athlete also explained issues with World Athletics’ eligibility criteria, which may require trans athletes to take medical interventions with testosterone levels to compete – a reported human rights violation. Additionally, for trans women to be eligible to compete they must medically transition before “Tanner stage 12 of puberty or age 12”. Mosier states that this is against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) standards of care and describes that the increasing ban on young people’s access to gender-affirming care makes meeting these criteria near impossible.
New York-based LGBTQ+ advocacy group, Athlete Ally has expressed that the new ban goes against the International Olympic Committee’s inclusive guidelines and is devastating to the community. “What these guidelines mean on a human level is that a young transgender girl who dreams of one day seeing herself on an Olympic stage will now have those dreams cruelly dashed,” said Hudson Taylor, Founder and Executive Director of Athlete Ally.
“For women with intersex traits, they will continue to be subjected to horrific sex testing practices and medically unnecessary surgery, gender-based violence and discrimination that has been documented by Human Rights Watch and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. We will continue to push for World Athletics to look at the science, to center inclusion, and to speak directly with athletes affected by these criteria in order to develop a policy that allows all athletes access to the sport they love.”
World Athletics has become the latest sport to ban transgender women from female sport, following World Rugby in 2020 and World Swimming and the Rugby Football League in 2022.
Source: The Guardian
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