The shocking data comes from a recent report published by Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, who issued an official recommendation of banning men from competing in women's sports. The report was presented to the UN General Assembly on Oct. 8, which included a plethora of written and in-person evidence. She advised that there needs to be a protected female-only category to ensure the safety of female athletes and fairness at all levels, as reported by Sex Matters.
Alsalem called on the assembly to ensure that "female categories in organized sport are exclusively accessible to persons whose biological sex is female." She said that new sporting categories need to be created for athletes who want to compete opposite their birth sex or have the men's category be made available to all competitors.
The UN official stated that athletes should not be forced to lower testosterone levels in order to compete in any category. She also said that sports bodies should not subject athletes to invasive sex screenings.
"In cases where the sex of an athlete is unknown or uncertain, a dignified, swift, non-invasive and accurate sex screening method (such as a cheek swab) or, where necessary for exceptional reasons, genetic testing should be applied to confirm the athlete's sex. In non-professional sports spaces, the original birth certificates for verification may be appropriate. In some exceptional circumstances, such tests may need to be followed up by more complex tests," the report stated.
Alsalem called out the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and said that had it followed this protocol, the 2024 Paris Olympics boxing scandal never would have happened. The IOC determines an athlete's sporting category based on whatever sex the athlete has listed on its passport. During the Olympics, two competitors in women's wrestling were believed to be men, though their passports said they wre female and there was no indication that they identified as trans. They were believed by some to have DSD, or differences in sexual development, though they had male XY chromosomes.
Additionally, the report revealed that men competing in women's sports pose a serious safety threat to female athletes, increasing "violence at all levels."
"Female athletes are also more vulnerable to sustaining serious physical injuries when female-only sports spaces are opened to males," the report stated, citing a study that found "the least powerful man produced more power than the most powerful woman" while playing the game of volleyball. Female athletes have sustained serious injuries such as knocked-out teeth, concussions, broken legs, and skull fractures from their transgender opponents, as per the report.
The UN official also advised against allowing men in women's restrooms or changing rooms, saying that "removing single-sex spaces in sports may also increase the risk of sexual harassment, assault, voyeurism, and physical and sexual attacks in unisex locker rooms and toilets."
