UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls issues letter warning against proposed Title IX rule change, requiring schools to permit males to compete in female-only sports
Communication sent to U.S. government in response to concerns from human rights groups, including ADF International
GENEVA (28 December 2023) – In an official communication to the United States government, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, has urged the Biden administration to protect female athletes from being forced to compete with males who identify as female.
The letter voices concern regarding the Biden administration’s proposed amendments to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The changes would undermine safety and fairness in women and girls’ sports by compelling schools to allow male athletes identifying as female to participate on female-only sports teams, in addition to the sharing of intimate spaces such as locker rooms and restrooms.
Decrying the harm faced by women and girl athletes when males identifying as female are allowed to compete in female sports, the Special Rapporteur states in the letter, “…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.”
She continued, “More importantly, 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.”
The Special Rapporteur added: “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 violence and discrimination against women and girls on the basis of sex.”
The Biden administration will have a 60-day response window, after which the full text of the letter becomes public.
“We welcome and support the UN Special Rapporteur’s robust defense of women and girls’ sex-based protections in sport. Female athletes have a right to equal opportunity, privacy, and safety in the pursuit of sporting achievements, and related academic opportunities. The proposed Title IX changes not only would compromise the integrity and fairness of female sports; they also would place the U.S. in direct violation of its international human rights obligations,” responded Giorgio Mazzoli, Director of United Nations Advocacy for ADF International.
Women and girls’ sports in the U.S.
“Men and women are equal, but different. 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,” stated Kristen Waggoner, CEO, president, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom.
Waggoner added: “The Special Rapporteur’s initiative, consistent with her mandate to protect women and girls from violence, shows that there is strong international support for protecting their rights to privacy, safety, and equal opportunities.”
The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit recently reinstated the case of four female athletes deprived of honors and opportunities at elite track-and-field levels by male athletes permitted to compete against them. The ruling revived the lawsuit, Soule v. Connecticut Association of Schools, allowing the case to proceed in federal district court. There, the female athletes will seek a merits ruling in favor of fairness and equal opportunities for female athletes under Title IX. For more information on this case see here.
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Background: Title IX
Title IX was passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX was intended to eliminate obstacles that many women faced in education, especially in higher education. The main provision of Title IX states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
In practice, Title IX bans most sex discrimination in college admissions, requires colleges and universities to prohibit sexual harassment on campus, allows women greater access to financial assistance, bans discrimination based on pregnancy status, and has been instrumental in paving the way for the later expansion of women’s sports.
Over time, Title IX’s effect on the growth of women’s sports in the US has become undeniable.
Before Title IX was passed, male athletes vastly outnumbered female athletes. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, in 1972, boys outnumbered girls 3.66 million to 300,000 (more than a 12:1 ratio) in American high school sports. Fifty years later, that ratio has shrunk to about 4:3 (4.5 million boys to 3.4 million girls).
Similar changes can be seen in US collegiate athletics. In 1972, male athletes outnumbered female athletes 170,000 to 30,000 (almost a 6:1 ratio). Now, that gap has shrunk to just under 4:3 (275,000 men to 215,000 women).
The Biden administration has sought to redefine “sex discrimination” in Title IX, although such a change is not authorized by Title IX’s text or United States Supreme Court precedent. Title IX deals with sex, not gender identity.
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