Allowing transgender women to compete in female sports competitions has resulted in an increasing number of biological women athletes losing opportunities, including medals, according to a report published by the United Nations. UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, Its Causes and Consequences Reem Alsalem said as of March, more than 600 female athletes in more than 400 competitions have lost more than 890 medals in 29 different sports to transgender women. “Male athletes have specific attributes considered advantageous in certain sports, such as strength and testosterone levels that are higher than those of the average range for females, even before puberty, thereby resulting in the loss of fair opportunity,” said Alsalem in a report. “Some sports federations mandate testosterone suppression for athletes in order to qualify for female categories in elite sports.” Policies implemented by international sports federations and national governing bodies and national legislation in some countries allow transgender women to compete in female sports categories. In other cases, this practice is not prohibited and is tolerated. Alsalem pointed out pharmaceutical testosterone suppression for transgender women athletes will not eliminate the performance advantage they have acquired. In response, she said this approach will harm the health of the athletes concerned and fails to achieve its stated objective. Therefore, she said the testosterone levels deemed acceptable by any sporting body “are, at best, not evidence-based, arbitrary, and asymmetrically favour males.” She said biological females are often tested randomly to ensure they are not using performance-enhancing drugs, but trangender women are often not monitored to ensure they are taking testosterone suppression drugs. “To avoid the loss of a fair opportunity, males must not compete in the female categories of sport,” she said. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won a gold medal in boxing at the Paris Olympics in August, but she faced scrutiny because of chromosomal abnormalities. Khelif won against Chinese athlete Yang Liu 5-0 in the final of the women’s welterweight division, finishing up the best series of fights of her boxing career. The controversy surrounding Khelif stemmed from the International Boxing Association banning her from a competition, saying she failed an eligibility test to participate in it. While she was born female, the eligibility test determined she had male chromosomes.
Allowing transgender women to compete in female sports competitions has resulted in an increasing number of biological women athletes losing opportunities, including medals, according to a report published by the United Nations. UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, Its Causes and Consequences Reem Alsalem said as of March, more than 600 female athletes in more than 400 competitions have lost more than 890 medals in 29 different sports to transgender women. “Male athletes have specific attributes considered advantageous in certain sports, such as strength and testosterone levels that are higher than those of the average range for females, even before puberty, thereby resulting in the loss of fair opportunity,” said Alsalem in a report. “Some sports federations mandate testosterone suppression for athletes in order to qualify for female categories in elite sports.” Policies implemented by international sports federations and national governing bodies and national legislation in some countries allow transgender women to compete in female sports categories. In other cases, this practice is not prohibited and is tolerated. Alsalem pointed out pharmaceutical testosterone suppression for transgender women athletes will not eliminate the performance advantage they have acquired. In response, she said this approach will harm the health of the athletes concerned and fails to achieve its stated objective. Therefore, she said the testosterone levels deemed acceptable by any sporting body “are, at best, not evidence-based, arbitrary, and asymmetrically favour males.” She said biological females are often tested randomly to ensure they are not using performance-enhancing drugs, but trangender women are often not monitored to ensure they are taking testosterone suppression drugs. “To avoid the loss of a fair opportunity, males must not compete in the female categories of sport,” she said. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won a gold medal in boxing at the Paris Olympics in August, but she faced scrutiny because of chromosomal abnormalities. Khelif won against Chinese athlete Yang Liu 5-0 in the final of the women’s welterweight division, finishing up the best series of fights of her boxing career. The controversy surrounding Khelif stemmed from the International Boxing Association banning her from a competition, saying she failed an eligibility test to participate in it. While she was born female, the eligibility test determined she had male chromosomes.
