Earlier this month, the Australian Human Rights Commission released its ‘Guidelines for Inclusion of Transgender and Gender Diverse People in Sport’.
The guidelines are the result of a collaboration between the AHRC, Sport Australia and the Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports (COMPPS) in consultation with governments, player associations, legal advisers and athletes.
Today, the federal Minister for Sport, Senator Richard Colbeck, is reported in the Australian as encouraging all sports clubs to ‘embrace’ the Guidelines.
The Guidelines clearly recommend that all sporting organisations, teams, trainers, coaches and support staff, and supporters, whether professional, club based or operated at a community level by volunteers should be doing everything they possibly can to include transgender and gender diverse people.
‘This means male persons who identify as female, regardless of whether they have transitioned, or the stage of their transition, will need to be accommodated in female single-sex sports’, said Women Speak Tasmania spokesperson, Bronwyn Williams.
‘We question whether Senator Colbeck has thoroughly considered the potential impact of the Guidelines on female sporting competitions. Has he sought any input from female sports people or female sports organisations?’.
‘The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 allows an exemption from discrimination in the case of ‘competitive’ sports where ‘the strength, stamina or physique of competitors is relevant’.
‘The Guidelines, however, caution that this exemption will only be available to female single-sex sports and competitions in very limited circumstances’.
‘Anyone seeking to maintain a single-sex sports activity on the basis of this permanent exemption is advised to think very carefully about whether the activity qualifies’.
‘Any sporting activity or competition that doesn’t strictly fit the requirement of a ‘competitive sporting activity in which the ‘strength, stamina or physique of competitors is relevant’ may fall foul of the Australian Human Rights Commission’.
‘The Guidelines seem to indicate that only high level, elite competitions may be able to rely on the exemption. But elite athletes don’t start at that level. They begin their sporting careers as children and adolescents and allowing male people to compete against them at those levels may discourage many females from pursuing sports they love, and building their talents’.
‘The presence of trans identifying males in female only sports is becoming a central part of the trans rights debate, with more and more elite female athletes speaking out about the inherent unfairness of post-pubertal biological males competing against biological females ‘.
Male puberty and the powerful effects of testosterone produce a body that is, on average, larger and stronger than a female body, with greater lung capacity, higher levels of blood cell oxygen retention, more lean muscle mass and greater bone strength.
‘Women have fought for years for dedicated female-only sporting competitions and the right to compete on a level playing field at the elite level. The Guidelines for including trans and gender diverse people in sport could undo all that work in a few short years. It won’t need a mass invasion of male people into female-only sports – just a few male people taking place honours and sports scholarships and earning opportunities from females will be enough to discourage girls and young women from participating. Why would they, when they know their hard work could be for nothing if one or two biological males decide to enter their competition’.
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