Summarised by Centrist

A recent UN report by Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, has reaffirmed the need for separate categories in women’s sports. Presented to the UN General Assembly, the report argues that maintaining sex-based divisions is critical for fairness, safety, and dignity. 

Alsalem notes, “Until very recently, the need for a separate category for females… was a universally recognised principle.” 

Her findings recognise the biological advantages of male athletes, such as men having much greater punching power on average than women. 

Alsalem’s report outlines the data that shows over 600 female athletes across 29 sports have lost nearly 900 medals to male-born competitors. It also documents serious injuries in trans-inclusive sports, including concussions and broken bones. 

The report calls for open categories for trans athletes to operate alongside women-only categories and confidential sex-verification procedures to protect female athletes. 

However, the International Olympic Committee opposes sex-verification, calling it “degrading and humiliating,” while Human Rights Watch dismisses such measures as harmful to women. 

Alsalem argues that policies prioritising trans inclusion often disregard female-specific human rights. She connects these trends to Western cultural imperialism. The argument here is that  trans-inclusive norms are a Western phenomenon, but are being enforced globally. However, this is done at the expense of biological women’s dignity and safety.

Read more over at The Daily Sceptic

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