GENEVA - The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, today welcomed the adoption by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of a new policy aiming to protect the female category in sport.
"The new policy is rooted in common sense, facts, and science. It restores dignity, fairness and safety for women and girls in Olympic sport," Alsalem said.
The Special Rapporteur noted that the IOC policy limits eligibility for any female category at the Olympic Games and all other IOC events to biological females, as determined through SRY gene screening, with further evaluation in rare cases involving specific differences in sex development conditions. According to scientific evidence, the presence of the SRY gene is fixed throughout life and is a highly accurate indicator of male sex development. Screening, conducted using a saliva sample, cheek swab, or blood sample, is typically performed once in a lifetime and is not an invasive procedure.
"I welcome this policy as a necessary, proportionate and legitimate step to ensure the protection of women and girls, in line with international human rights law and standards. Evidence-based approaches, including the recognition of the material reality of sex, must guide the development, monitoring, and review of sport policy at all levels," the expert said.
She had previously expressed concern about the human rights impacts of the IOC's former "Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations," warning that the erosion of female-only categories could expose female athletes to physical and psychological harm, including injury, loss of privacy, and self-exclusion from sport.
In reports to the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, Alsalem stressed that replacing female competition categories with mixed-sex categories leads to women athletes losing opportunities, including medals, and makes sex-based inequalities and vulnerabilities harder to identify.
"Contrary to reports, the policy does not disqualify anyone from participating in sports or competing professionally in categories corresponding to their biological sex. Rather, it ensures that women and girls are not disadvantaged or excluded from meaningful and fair competition in their own category," the Special Rapporteur said.
She called on all stakeholders, including media outlets, to report factually on the policy and to refrain from spreading misinformation.
Alsalem said that while the policy is not retroactive, it does not preclude the IOC from providing appropriate remedies for past injustices, such as issuing an apology to female athletes who were denied fair competition, and to consider awarding retrospective parallel medals.
"Such measures would demonstrate a recognition of the harm suffered by female athletes and signal a genuine commitment to accountability and restoring their rights, including guarantees that it will not happen again," she said.
The expert urged both competitive and non-competitive sports associations to align their policies with the International Olympic Committee's standards for the protection of the female category in sport.
