A leading UN expert on violence against women and girls has issued a warning to the Biden Administration about protecting women’s sports.
Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, flagged the dangers of compelling females to compete with males both on and off the pitch.
In the letter, Alsalem warns the U.S. government against the proposed Title IX rule change, which would require American schools to permit males to compete in female-only sports. Key issues raised in the letter include the dangers of males and females sharing locker rooms and other intimate spaces.
The letter was sent privately to the U.S. government in December, but has now been made public after the government failed to respond to the Special Rapporteur’s communication within the requested time period of 60 days. It has now been published on the website of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In it, Ms Alsalem points to the potential negative consequences for the ability of women and girls to enjoy their rights free from discrimination based on sex.
Dealing with the administration’s proposed amendments to Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, the UN expert said the changes would undermine safety and fairness in women’s and girl’s sports by compelling schools to allow male athletes identifying as female to participate on female-only sports teams, in addition to the sharing of intimate spaces such as locker rooms and restrooms.
She warns that this shift in policy would mean “unfair treatment and unlawful and extreme forms of discrimination against most women and girls on the basis of female sex,” adding that it would “undermine the access of women and girls in sports to equal opportunity as well as undermine their overall participation in society and public life.”
Ms Alsalem detailed that the forced erasure of female-only facilities could result in “loss of privacy, an increased risk of physical injury, heightened exposure to sexual harassment and voyeurism, as well as a more frequent and accumulated psychological distress due to the loss of privacy and fair and equal sporting and academic opportunities.”
“Over the years, Title IX has allowed women and men to celebrate their independent and incomparable physical limits in equality.
“According to the information received, there is serious concern by women sports associations, women athletes, and those representing them that if passed, the proposed amendment to Title IX would negatively impact on the participation of biological women and girls in sports, including by denying them the opportunity to compete fairly, exposing them to increased risk of injury and resulting in them losing athletic opportunities, public recognition, and scholarship opportunities.
“If introduced, the foreseen changes to Title IX would also undermine the access of women and girls in sports to equal opportunity,” Alsalem adds.
Furthermore, the UN expert detailed that the forced erasure of female-only facilities could result in “loss of privacy, an increased risk of physical injury, heightened exposure to sexual harassment and voyeurism, as well as a more frequent and accumulated psychological distress due to the loss of privacy and fair and equal sporting and academic opportunities.”
The letter also drew attention to the physical dangers resulting from admitting males into women’s sports.
“Moreover, allowing athletes born male to, for example, box, wrestle, pin, shove, or strike at female athletes on a playing field, regardless of the power differences based on sex, is likely to lead to the toleration of such behaviour off the pitch,” it warned.
Additionally, the expert flagged that “compelling women and girls to share restrooms, locker rooms and intimate spaces with males, would very likely lead to feelings of anxiety, stress, humiliation, and embarrassment, resulting in women and girls choosing to avoid these facilities altogether. It would also increase the risk of sexual harassment, voyeurism, and physical and sexual attacks in unisex locker rooms.”
The Special Rapporteur called for fair access for females on the pitch and in academia.
“Denial of the opportunity to compete fairly causes extreme psychological distress to women who know they do not have a chance to compete and may lose well-deserved scholarships and other educational and economic opportunities,” wrote Alsalem.
She also referred to the reports of concerned athletes and human rights organisations that the proposed changes would “potentially upend decades of advances in athletic opportunities for women and girls by opening women’s sports teams to males with intrinsic biological advantages.”