UN Official Defends Women’s Sports Against Male Incursion
This week, a UN expert ignited an explosive debate about male athletes in women’s sports. The expert called on countries and sports authorities not to allow men to compete in women’s sports. In her latest report to the General Assembly, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Reem Alsaleem, called on states to stop allowing “men who self-identify as women” to compete against women and girls in sports. A visibly irritated U.S. diplomat who wore a rainbow heart lapel pin accused her of using “demeaning language” about “trans” athletes. He accused Alsaleem of a “online harassment, abuse, and gender disinformation” when she presented her report on Tuesday. These and similar accusations were made by delegates from the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, France, Mexico, Colombia, and other Western countries. Alsaleem insisted that it is factually correct to refer to these individuals as “men who self-identify as women.” She said, “Human rights language and principles must continue to be consistent with science and facts, including biological ones.” Men have a “performance advantage” because of higher strength and testosterone levels, Alsaleem argued. As a result, when they are allowed to compete against women, “the risk of injury to athletes is knowingly increased” and “the physical harms sustained can be characterized as violence.” According to the report, allowing transgender athletes in women’s sports also leads to women and girls experiencing “extreme psychological distress due to the physical disadvantage, the loss of opportunity for fair competition and of educational and economic opportunities and the violation of their privacy in locker rooms and other intimate spaces.” In her report she claimed that “over 600 female athletes in more than 400 competitions have lost more than 890 medals in 29 different sports” in recent years because of transgender policies.
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