UN expert urges Biden to nix Title IX changes to protect women

A United Nations-affiliated expert is warning the United States government that proposed changes to longstanding U.S. law that would allow trans-identified males to compete in women’s sports could cause the U.S. to violate “international human rights obligations.”

In a statement released Wednesday, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls Reem Alsalem weighed in on the Biden administration’s proposed changes to the interpretation of Title IX civil rights law designed to create equal opportunities for women and girls in education, including in sports.

The Biden administration’s proposed changes, unveiled in April, would prohibit schools that receive Title IX funding from outright banning trans-identified males from participating in women’s sports. 

“I share the concern expressed by women and girl athletes and women sports associations, as well as women and girls on sports scholarships, that the proposed Title IX rule changes would have detrimental effects on the participation of biological women and girls in sports, including by denying them the opportunity to compete fairly, resulting in the loss of athletic and scholarship opportunities,” Alsalem wrote in her communication to the U.S. government. 

Alsalem expressed concern about the impact the proposed changes would have on the ability of trans-identified males to use women’s locker rooms, shower facilities and other sex-segregated spaces.

“It would lead to the loss of privacy, an increased risk of physical injury, heightened exposure to sexual harassment and voyeurism, as well as a more frequent and accumulated psychological distress due to the loss of privacy and fair and equal sporting and academic opportunities,” she wrote. 

“If the proposed changes are adopted, they would contravene the United States’ international human rights obligations and commitments concerning the prevention of all forms of discrimination against women and girls on the basis of sex.”

Alsalem called on the U.S. government to pursue an alternative policy that protects the rights of both biologically female and trans-identified athletes.

“Applying non-invasive means of confirming the sex of the student and the establishment of open categories, would maintain fairness in sports for female athletes while broadening opportunities for participation by all, including transgender women and girls, to exercise their right to participate in sports,” the UN special rapporteur contends. 

She justified separating participation in sports based on biological sex, citing “male performance advantage throughout the life cycle” as the reason why it is necessary.

USA Powerlifting, one of several organizations that have enacted policies preventing biological men who identify as women from competing in women’s categories, has identified some of the biological advantages that men have on average over women that give them an advantage in athletics as “increased body and muscle mass, bone density, bone structure, and connective tissue.”

A 2020 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that these advantages do not disappear in trans-identified males even after two years of taking feminizing hormones. Concerns about the implications of allowing trans-identified male athletes to compete in women’s sports on female athletes have prompted 24 states to pass laws or regulations requiring athletes to compete on sports teams that correspond with their biological sex as opposed to their gender identity.

States that have enacted such measures are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. 

ADF International, a legal nonprofit specializing in religious freedom, praised Alsalem’s defense of women’s sports in a series of statements published Thursday.

“We welcome and support the UN Special Rapporteur’s robust defense of women and girls’ sex-based protections in sport,” asserted ADF International’s UN Advocacy Director Giorgio Mazzoli.

Mazzoli declared, “Female athletes have a right to equal opportunity, privacy, and safety in the pursuit of sporting achievements, and related academic opportunities.”

“Men and women are equal, but different,” stated Alliance Defending Freedom CEO and General Counsel Kristen Waggoner. “When the law refuses to recognize biological reality, it is women and girls who suffer most. Unfortunately, the Biden administration is trampling on the rights of women to score political points. Women and girls deserve privacy in their facilities and fairness on the playing field, but the administration is trying to roll back these hard-won achievements by opening up women’s spaces to men.” 

Waggoner described Alsalem’s position as “consistent with her mandate to protect women and girls from violence” and indicative of “strong international support for protecting their rights to privacy, safety, and equal opportunities.”

As explained by the UN, Alsalem is part of the Special Procedures of the supranational organization’s Human Rights Council. 

“Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world,” the UN noted. “Special Procedures [experts] work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity.” 

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