I'm just bumping this thread to add slightly updated versions of my sports template letters, for anyone thinking about equality in sport now the weather is better and we're getting outside more.
Here's a template for writing to a sports organisation about recreational sport. This probably needs a bit more editing to include any specific inclusion policy you want to refer to.
Dear
I’m writing to you about
Your policy states that . This creates several issues that will lead to the exclusion of women and girls from participation in . For activities/events promoted as ‘women-only’ or ‘female-only’, the vast majority of people would understand that to use the dictionary and Equality Act definition of women as being female only. Female only activities have been shown to increase participation in sports amongst women and girls, who are under-represented in the majority of sports. Women and girls will be expecting a female only event and some will only be able to take part because it is female only. The inclusion of male-born transwomen will lead to women and girls not participating as the activity has become mixed sex. This discriminates against women from some religious groups e.g. Muslims and Orthodox Jews, who may require a single-sex environment.
Your policy states that transgender people must be accommodated in the changing rooms and toilets of the gender they identify as . As your organisation accepts self-identification of gender, this means that any male person could access the female changing room just by claiming a transgender identity. This is a serious safeguarding concern. Over 90% of male-born transwomen still have male genitals and the vast majority of people would find it inappropriate to direct them to a female changing area. For women and girls expecting a single sex changing facility this is likely to be uncomfortable at best and extremely frightening for some. Do you believe that women and girls should be forced to get changed with males?
Your policy appears to reflect a common misunderstanding of the law which has been propagated by many organisations which provide equality training. They state that as soon as a person identifies as the opposite gender, that they are entitled to be treated as if they are that gender e.g. by accessing services, changing rooms, toilets etc of that gender. That is not the case under the Equality Act, unless the person has a Gender Recognition Certificate (and even then there can be legitimate grounds to exclude them from single-sex provisions). Self-identification is not part of UK law and any organisation using it is liable to find itself discriminating against women by removing their legal right to single-sex provisions.An analysis of the British Cycling transgender policy by a lawyer shows how these policies discriminate against women legalfeminist.org.uk/2021/04/10/single-sex-cycling/ . Similar policies to yours have been challenged legally and were withdrawn, e.g. Oxfordshire County Council Trans Inclusion Toolkit and CPS Schools Hate Crime guidance as detailed in this legal blog legalfeminist.org.uk/2021/02/01/submission-and-compliance/
There is no reason why transgender people cannot participate in sports, and why they cannot be encouraged to do so, but there are serious problems in trying to pretend there is no area of conflict with the rights of others with protected characteristics. The rights of women and girls to have single-sex provision as set out in the Equality Act must not be removed due to incorrect advice about the law. The provision of trans only, LGBT only and trans inclusive sporting activities can occur alongside women only and mixed sex/open to all activities. Where changing facilities and toilets are provided, additional gender neutral or private facilities in addition to single sex spaces should be available so that all can have privacy and dignity.
Please look again at your policies in the light of what UK law actually says and consider that you will be discriminating against women and girls, and some religious groups. The inclusion of male-born transgender people in activities advertised as women only or female only excludes women from activities designed to encourage them into sport. If your organisation believes that excluding women and girls from your sport is acceptable in order to include male-born transwomen in female sports, then you need to state that clearly and publicly. Otherwise you need to apply the provisions of the Equality Act in order to ensure that genuinely single sex spaces are available to allow women and girls to have the chance to participate.
Here's a template for anyone who wants to write to a sports organisation about competitive sport. You can edit it as required, as not all the stats will be relevant to the sport you're writing about.
Dear
I’m writing to you about transgender athletes in sport.
According to the IOC the most important principle in sport is that of fair competition [1]. We have recognised for a long time that biological males have advantages over biological females when it comes to almost all sports. Men have a larger percentage of muscle and a smaller percentage of fat than women, they have higher haemoglobin levels, a larger heart and lungs, stronger bones, a differently shaped pelvis and are taller on average than women are. These clear biological differences are why almost all sports are separated into male and female categories as women would have no chance to win or even compete at elite level if they had to compete against men.
The inclusion of transgender people in sports has mostly affected women by including male-born transwomen in female sports. This has been based on the idea that lowering testosterone levels will remove the advantages of being born male, but there is now good evidence this is not the case. Research shows that suppression of testosterone to levels below those required for competition in female sports does not lead to any loss of muscle strength in transwomen after 1 year of treatment [2].
A recently published review of all the research [3] shows that transwomen will start with the male performance advantages conferred by puberty, and that treatment with testosterone suppression and cross-sex hormones are likely to lead to little to no reduction in strength, with a large retained strength advantage over females. The skeleton remains the same with a retained more efficient gait and longer limbs as well as retained larger heart and lungs. For weightlifting, males are 30% stronger than females/For boxing, males have 163% greater punch power than females. Given the retention of muscle strength despite transition, these advantages over women will be retained. The original inclusion of transwomen in women's sport by the IOC was done after evidence presented by transwoman Joanna Harper based on a paper with serious flaws. Harper and colleagues have now produced much higher quality research which shows transwomen retain an advantage over born women, agreeing with other high quality papers in this field [4].
An analysis by World Rugby concluded that for rugby, male-born players would still be 25-50% stronger, 30% more powerful, 40% heavier and around 15% faster than female players, and that female players would have a 20-30% increased risk of injury when playing against them. These risks are likely to be similar in other contact sports. The research shows that including transwomen in female sports categories is unfair to female competitors and will lead to female athletes being excluded from their own teams, competitions, podiums and medals due to losing places to male-born transwomen.
Having comprehensively reviewed all the evidence, World Rugby have opted to keep the female category of rugby open only to biological females, due to the safety risks and unfairness to women of opening the category to anyone born male [5].
The Equality Act 2010 specifically says that in sport, all male-born people (even those with a Gender Recognition Certificate) can be excluded from women’s categories. The scientific evidence showing it is unfair, and for some sports unsafe, to allow anyone born male to participate in the female category is clear. Sports organisations who ignore this and continue to allow males into female categories are discriminating against women (An analysis of the British Cycling transgender policy by a lawyer shows how these policies discriminate against women legalfeminist.org.uk/2021/04/10/single-sex-cycling/ ). It is time for all sports organisations to either show they think fairness for women is important, or to state clearly that they are happy to discriminate against female athletes by allowing males into their categories. Are you happy to state clearly that you don’t care about fairness and safety for female athletes? Are you happy to state clearly that females should be discriminated against in sport?
There is no reason why transgender athletes cannot compete fairly in their own categories, in the same way that fair competition for athletes with disabilities has been made possible. Fairness in sport is vital and should be based on evidence and not on feelings. Please take this opportunity to end discrimination against female athletes by keeping female sports categories for females only.
References
- IOC consensus statement 2015
- Muscle Strength, Size, and Composition Following 12 Months of Gender-affirming Treatment in Transgender Individuals. Wiik et al
J Clin Endocrinol Metab (2020); 105: 1–9
- Transgender Women in the Female Category of Sport: Perspectives on Testosterone Suppression and Performance Advantage. Emma N. Hilton, Tommy R. Lundberg
Sports Medicine doi.org/10.1007/s40279-020-01389-3
- How does hormone transition in transgender women change body composition, muscle strength and haemoglobin? Systematic review with a focus on the implications for sport participation
Harper J. et al
Br J Sports Med doi:10.1136/bjsports-2020-103106
- World Rugby Guidelines and FAQ playerwelfare.worldrugby.org/?subsection=5
Sorry about the wall of text!