Has Hell frozen over? Uncommonly for the UN (think Antonio Guterres with the global warming hyperbole), one of its recent reports is full of common sense. In the last three years, I have been critical of UN performance regarding some high-profile issues, including World Health Organisation failings in responding to the coronavirus pandemic and a power grab for future pandemic management; lawfare against Israel by the world court and International Criminal Court; and UN Women’s betrayal of the raison d’être for its creation and existence with a shamefully delayed acknowledgment of the weaponisation of mass rape, sexual violence, mutilation and public humiliation of Israeli women on October 7th 2023.
Enter Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls. It’s a relief and a pleasure to acknowledge her positive report ‘Violence against women and girls in sport‘. Published on August 27th, it was presented to the UN General Assembly last month. She notes that until very recently, the need for a separate category for females “to ensure equal, fair and safe opportunities in sports” was a “universally recognised principle”. Maintaining separate-sex sports is a proportional action that corresponds to legitimate aims within international law. Females also have a right to privacy under international law which is forfeited by compelled mixed-sex spaces in intimate facilities. Alsalem explained to Fox News on October 21st that this is primarily a human rights issue, not a cultural or an individual issue.
Biological advantages for males in competitive sports include strength (162% greater punching power on average!), weight, muscle mass, speed, height, reach and endurance. Separate categories for males and females were created to recognise this biological reality and provide equal, fair and safe opportunities for females to win recognition, prize money, fame and career advancement. Allowing biological males into female sports is unfair and amounts to cheating by males who are simply not competitive in male sports (think swimmer Lia Thomas). It steals women’s dreams, aspirations and rewards. Alsalem’s data show that more than 600 female athletes in over 400 competitions have lost nearly 900 medals across 29 different sports. Other reports document instances of injuries from trans-on-females encounters, including teeth knocked out, concussions resulting in neural impairment, broken legs and skull fractures. Thus safety is yet another another concern.
Despite the unfairness, invasion of privacy, opportunity costs and safety risks, many athletes and coaches who object to trans-inclusion policies are silenced or forced to self-censor at the risk of losing sporting opportunities, scholarships and sponsorships. Many who do speak out despite such formidable hurdles are accused of bigotry, suspended, expelled and subjected to unfair disciplinary proceedings. Many (like Moira Deeming) face hostility if they assemble to discuss how to deal with these issues, violating the fundamental human rights to freedom of belief, opinion and expression. Some have quit sport entirely under the cumulative stress. Because “biological sex is central” to women’s “experiences of discrimination and violence”, countries that permit biological men to compete in women’s sports deny women “their femaleness”. To counteract the “worrisome trend”, she recommends the creation of open categories in sports competition and non-invasive and confidential sex screening procedures to ensure fairness, safety and dignity for female athletes alongside inclusive participation for everyone.
The trans-extremist assault on female spaces in the workplace and sporting arenas has been in the thick of the culture wars. Amidst the wreckage of those wars, the DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) industry has morphed into DIE (division, intolerance, exclusion), promoting resentment, language-policing and unjust outcomes instead of real solutions. Trade-offs are central to public policy decision-making. The last major issue on which this was ignored was the panicked response to Covid and we will be paying for the resulting disasters for many years yet. By putting the spotlight back on the importance of balancing competing and clashing rights through policy trade-offs, this report provides a key to navigating our way out of the wreckage. It’s potentially also helpful in Sall Grover’s appeal in the Giggle v. Tickle case, as is the return of Trump to the White House. Alsalem is right to note that these policies originate from and exist almost entirely in Western countries. Their hold on many parts of the UN system is evidence of the hegemony of Western ideas and practices as the global norm. The adoption of trans and multigender language and the inclusion of trans athletes in international sports is confirmation of cultural imperialism at the cost of women-specific human rights.
Alsalem’s insistence on separating sex and gender has met with criticism, including from within the UN system. In comments submitted to Alsalem ahead of the report, the International Olympic Committee said sex-verification tests “create harmful environments for all women and girls”. Human Rights Watch chimed in to assert that “sex testing regulations” are “inherently degrading and humiliating”. Feminist organisations like the Affiliation of Australian Women’s Action Alliances disagree. Letting athletes choose their own sex categories for competition “compromises safety, fairness, dignity, and participation” for women in sports, the group wrote to Ms. Alsalem.
The trans culture war in sports is far from over and battles continue to rage on many fronts, from the widespread use of the formulation ‘gender assigned at birth’, to the reluctance of many governing associations in sports to confront the belligerent demands of trans activists and the continued aggressive enforcement of ‘hate speech’. In the U.K., for example, in a soccer match against a trans-inclusive club, a 17-year-old girl with suspected autism was left distraught after being charged by the local football association for asking a bearded opponent if he was a man. In another example of the shambolic incoherence, a trans rapist was referred to by the judge and barristers as “she” but on conviction was sentenced to six years in a male prison.
Gabrielle Bauer draws an analogy with adoptive parents. Yes, they are the parents of the adopted child legally, emotionally and psychologically for parents, children, state and society. But this doesn’t mean they are ‘exactly the same’ as the biological parents nor justify efforts, in the case of transgenderism, to induce lactation, simulate periods (and demand tampon dispensers in men’s toilets), explore ways to stretch the cervix to mimic birthing-related cervical dilation, etc. Since the Cass Review report, gender-critical voices have gained ground in the public debate. A woman hounded out of an Edinburgh trans-inclusive rape crisis centre run by a biological male has been awarded compensation for being penalised for her gender-critical beliefs. U.S. politicians up for re-election disingenuously tried to hide their past votes in support of trans rights but it proved a potent weapon for Republicans. Alsalem’s report therefore comes in a more receptive international environment to provide some UN legitimacy to Trump’s looming war on trans rights at the expense of women’s rights.
Ramesh Thakur is a former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Emeritus Professor in the Crawford School of Public Policy, the Australian National University. This article was first published in Spectator Australia.
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Great article there. As ever, J.K Rowling’s words of wisdom are called upon with this now ‘done to death’ topic. And this is a good point. If I’m a woman but a man is also legally allowed to call himself a woman, and those of us who don’t play along and affirm this mentally unwell person are persecuted as a result, then that basically cancels out my sex as it’s rendered meaningless. Is this what people mean when they talk about this mysterious ”feminization of the nation”, then? LOL
”If a man is a woman, there’s no such thing as a woman.
You’re desperate to be categorised as female, but by entering the category, you destroy it. You know that, which must suck for you, but not as much as it sucks for the women & girls fighting to retain their rights and spaces.”
https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1859746721804452114
Fair play to this MtF trans person. Wish there were more out there;
”I’m a ‘Trans Woman’ and can emphatically state I am a biological male, will never be female, can never be female.
I’m a transsexual, that should not be someone else’s problem to deal with.
Tired of restating this over and over again.”
https://x.com/MoniFunGirl/status/1859752396374802771
There is no proof that “gender” exists separate to biological sex.
It’s a fantasy.
Now, we all have the, but this “gender” fantasy is the only one NOT treated with therapy if disturbing, and has laws to enforce this fantasy on such as I who think it nonsense.
Why? Because it is. Gender does NOT exist outside grammar. I will NOT bow down to another’s fantasy.
Astonished the UN have done something positive for a change. Utterly astonished
The absolute travesty of this ridiculous argument was summed up perfectly many decades ago – “Nouns have gender – people have sex!”
It isn’t just the loss of 900 medals. Nobody ever mentions the dashed dreams of breaking the olympic record, of being the world record holder. There are hundreds of women track athletes denied ever competing for that honour.
I’m surprised we haven’t had the usual crop of people doing their ”women just need to refuse to compete. That’ll sort it!” broken record impersonation, as if it’s that straight forward. And if it were don’t people wonder why female athletes haven’t done it by now? Yes females are doing this at high school and university level sports in some places, particularly in the U.S, but that’s a whole different kettle of fish to professionals performing on the international stage.
Can you imagine a walk-out from all women in any event where a man is allowed to compete in the next Olympics? Not a chance. They’ve too much to lose. And the only way it could ever be effective is if ALL women walk out, rather than the odd one or two, who can easily be penalised and it’ll have precisely zero effect, but this would require a great deal of organization and unity, and I can’t ever see that happening at high level sports. The change has to come from the sporting bodies/organizations. Seb Coe is very much supportive of keeping female sports female, so let’s hope he gets the job of president of the IOC;
”Sebastian Coe says protecting female sport is a “non-negotiable” after speaking for the first time since revealing he is set to run for election as the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“The protection of the female category is entirely non-negotiable,” said Coe.
“If you do not protect the female category in sport, you will lose women’s sport. That is not something I’m prepared to do.”
https://www.skysports.com/olympics/news/15234/13253757/sebastian-coe-ioc-president-candidate-says-protecting-female-sport-is-non-negotiable
This powerlifter in Canada has been banned from competing for two years due to speaking out against men competing ( and unsurprisingly winning ) in the female events;
”A female competitive powerlifter for Team Canada who spoke out after a trans-identified male athlete set a women’s national record at a championship in Manitoba has been informed that she is facing a two-year suspension from her sport as a result. April Hutchinson shared the news to X (formerly Twitter), where she has received an outpouring of support after she slammed the situation as a “horror show.”
“I now face a 2-year ban by the [Canadian Powerlifting Union] CPU for speaking publicly about the unfairness of biological males being allowed to taunt female competitors & loot their winnings,” Hutchinson wrote.
“Apparently, I have failed in my gender-role duties as ‘supporting actress’ in the horror show that is my sport right now. Naturally, the CPU deemed MY written (private) complaint of the male bullying to be ‘frivolous and vexatious.’”
https://reduxx.info/canada-female-powerlifter-facing-two-year-ban-for-criticizing-trans-identified-males-in-womens-sports/
I disagree.
I do think it would have stopped ages ago if women had walked out. I like to think I would have. And if they do, others will follow.
It is the same as during the Covid shambles, if we had all not complied it would have been over very soon.
People need to start realising their power.
Rather a moot point now as I’m highly doubtful we’ll ever see it happen. Any changes will need to come from higher up, from an organizational level. The reason I’m confident of this is that it is they who are going to have to create a category only for the trans people.
Nobody’s saying trans athletes should be excluded from their sport, only that they need to be competing on a level playing field, which would simultaneously protect women’s sport, their safety and achievements no longer an issue. This is really the only fair way forward that I can see. Of course, the only issue would be that there’d need to be at least a few trans competitors for any given event.
How many of the technoratic elite have ever engaged in physical culture. If you have done so with men and women together you very quickly notice the differences and it goes way beyond the obvious ones. No that you should need to if you have had any sort of relationship with a woman. A mother, sister, wife etc. This shows you the cynicism and worthlessness of these people.