Gaps in the protection of athletes gender rights in sport—a regulatory riddle

Abstract

This paper examines the regulatory gaps in the protection of athletes’ gender rights in sport. The regulation of human rights in sport is increasingly being scrutinised and at the same time, the societal parameters of sex and gender identity are shifting. Together, these current developments present a regulatory riddle when determining how to balance the interests of sport with the protection of non-conforming athletes’ rights, who may not strictly fit into the binary categories of sport. Despite a strong human rights framework protecting gender rights, the complex relationship between law and sport leaves athletes in a vulnerable position, with limited accountability of sports bodies and restricted access to a legal remedy. Drawing upon existing recommendations, this paper offers original insight for resolving the riddle, such as the establishment of an anti-discrimination in sport unit to enforce human rights in sport.

Societal discrimination and mental health among transgender athletes: a systematic review and Meta-analysis

“…Effective training and emphasis should be encouraged on the roles of AT management in the psychological health among transgender individuals so that they can interact with the system more freely and experience less or no discrimination [ 42 , 43 ]. A participant in one of the studies, named Ryan, expressed how transgender people have limited options in sports; their experiences show a deep belief concerning different gender orientations and sports [ 43 , 54 ]. Despite many transgender athletes reporting negative experiences with sports participation, some experienced a positive interaction [ 13 , 37 ].…”

Serial Mediation Analysis of the Association of Familiarity with Transgender Sports Bans and Suicidality among Sexual and Gender Minority Adults in the United States

“…The primary finding of the current study, that suicidality is linked to familiarity with US state-level transgender sports bans among SGM adults, has applicability beyond the US. Although opposed through human rights protections, transgender sports bans have not been limited to those at the state-level in the US [ 51 ]. International sports organizations (e.g., International Swimming Federation, International Ruby, Union Cycliste Internationale) along with countries’ sports organizing committees (e.g., British Cycling, British Triathlon) have also proposed policies to restrict access to sports participation for transgender athletes [ 52 ].…”

Abuse with impunity in sports: Some reflections

“…It was reaffirmed by the 185th WMA Council Session, Evian-les-Bains, France, May 2010, and amended by the 72nd WMA General Assembly (online), London, United Kingdom, October 2021. d The challenge to this top-down approach may well come from grass root bottoms up sports mobilisation such as the initiative Sabah Khan [24] (2021) describes or the Hockey Village India in Rajasthan (closed since 2018)] e See Patel [27](2021) for an illuminating discussion on gender and human rights regulations in sports.…”