The International Olympic Committee polices women and girls and fails them
- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced policy reintroducing sexrefers to the classification of a person as male, female, or other - usually made at birth, written on a birth certificate, and usually based on the appearance of their external anatomy. A person’s sex, however, is actually a combination of bodily characteristics, including chromosomes, hormones, internal and external reproductive organs, and secondary sex characteristics. More testing and banning transadjective/umbrella term to describe a person whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. More and intersexan umbrella term for the spectrum of variations of sex characteristics that naturally occur within the human species. Intersex people are born with variations of sex characteristics (such as genitals, reproductive organs, hormonal and chromosomal patterns) that are more diverse than stereotypical definitions of male or female bodies. Up to 1.7% of the global population are born with such traits; yet, because their bodies are seen as different, intersex children and adults are often stigmatised and subject to harmful practices – including in medical settings - and discriminated against. More women athletes from competing in the female category
- ILGA World argues that this policy will put all women and girls at further risk of scrutiny
- Over 100 civil society organisations had urged the IOC not to implement the policy
ILGA World responds to the policy announced today by the International Olympic Committee, which reintroduces sex testing and bans trans and intersex women athletes from competing in the female category.
Kimberly Frost, ILGA World co-Secretary General: “Sports is where excellence, respect, and inclusion meet. But, instead, the IOC decided to create more scrutiny on the body of any woman who would have just wanted to play the game she loves — from the Olympics, trickling down to every playground. How is this protection?”
Julia Ehrt, ILGA World Executive Director: “Sport should be a place of belonging. But today, the IOC chose to prioritise politics over safety and allowed a policy that actively puts all women at risk. Invasive policing of women’s bodies should concern everyone as it exposes every woman and LGBTIacronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people. Although this is not the acronym available to describe people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and sex characteristics, it is the most commonly used in United Nations spaces and advocacy. More athlete to further harassment and scrutiny.”
Obioma Chukwuike, ILGA World Intersex Committee Chair: Sport eligibility regulations continue to target racialised women from the Global South, simply on the basis of how they look. But any policy that invites scrutiny over certain women’s bodies harms all women. And the harm extends beyond sports, legitimising surveillance in schools, hospitals, workplaces, and every other sphere of life. Women deserve to be safe from this constant policing of bodies that look different.
Angelica Polmonari, ILGA World Women’s Committee Chair: “Many cis women athletes and women’s rights advocates have been supportive of trans women and girls. And, as a transfeminist lesbianadjective/noun to describe a woman whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to other women. Women and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves. More cisgendera person whose gender identity is the same as the sex they were assigned at birth. The term is commonly used to refer to a person who does not identify as trans. More woman myself, I can clearly see how the new IOC policy would call for more scrutiny on women’s bodies. Quoting US soccer champion Megan Rapinoe, ‘We can’t make demands for a false sense of fairness while ignoring the actual needs of women and girls.’”
Lily Dong Li Rosengard, ILGA World Senior Specialist – Gender Identityrefers to a person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth. More and Gender Expressionrefers to how a person presents their gender through physical appearance – including dress, hairstyles, accessories, cosmetics – and mannerisms, speech, behavioural patterns, names and personal references. More: We agree: women deserve to compete safely. And this starts with addressing real issues for women’s sports like unequal funding, pay disparities, access to training and facilities, gender-based violence, and male dominance of coaching and leadership roles. Subjecting the bodies of all women and girl athletes to further scrutiny, on the other hand, will only cause more harm and drive more women away from the sports they love.”
Crystal Hendricks, ILGA World Specialist – Sex Characteristicsa term that refers to physical features relating to sex - including genitalia and other sexual and reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, hormones, and secondary physical features emerging from puberty. More: Most women want to go about their lives without scrutiny over their bodies. But the IOC has decided to strip athletes of this freedom, and is even punishing women for traits they were born with. This policy will force women with intersex variations to undergo invasive medical procedures, hormone suppression, or exclusion from sports simply because of natural bodily variations. This is a brutal and unjust violation of the Olympic value of respect that the IOC should uphold for everyone. All women deserve better than this.
Gurchaten Sandhu, ILGA World Director of Programmes: Reintroducing sex testing brings the IOC back to policy that it had discontinued exactly thirty years ago. Back then, they rightfully concluded that sex testing was scientifically inconclusive and caused considerable harm to athletes. Then, in 2021, they approved a Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination to best support trans athletes and athletes with sex variations. Now, they are retreating from their own decisions and ignoring the recommendations of various UN bodies, the World Medical Association, and athletes worldwide. But the evidence is clear: sex testing exposes women and girls to privacy violations, public humiliation, and abuse. And it is profoundly discriminatory, too. No one is asking men and boys to undergo these tests. Women and girls shouldn’t either.
