Stonewall criticises new transgender guidelines for sport

Stonewall asked for the UK’s sport councils to develop “more robust” research

Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign (PA Archive)

LGBT rights charity Stonewall has criticised new guidelines for transgender participation in sport, describing them as “extremely harmful”.

The United Kingdom’s sport councils today released new guidance that suggested that sports must choose whether to prioritise inclusion or safety and competitive fairness.

The Sports Councils Equality Group’s review found that transgender women retain strength and stamina advantages after lowering their testosterone levels, and urged sports to find ways to include those individuals, including new formats such as non-contact team sports.

Stonewall have criticised the advice, accusing the councils of ignoring evidence of existing transgender participation in sport.

“It is extremely harmful for this guidance to suggest that there is an inherent conflict between inclusion, fairness and safety, when in reality, the three go hand in hand,” said a statement from Stonewall.

“Amidst the current manufactured moral panic around trans people, it is important that governing bodies’ policies are based on solid evidence about the reality of sport and inclusion.

“The truth is that trans women are already participating in sports, without any evidence that they are disproportionately succeeding in competitive sport or posing safety risks – which this guidance fails to properly reflect in its use of data.”

After 18 months of research, discussion and analysis, in reviewing the latest science, the guidelines claim that adult male athletes have on average a 10-12% performance advantage over female competitors in swimming and running events.

That increases to a 20% advantage in jumping events, and 35% greater performance in strength-based sports such as weightlifting for similar-sized athletes.

The charity has however suggested that the councils work to develop “more robust” research.

“The beauty of sport is that it is for everyone, and this guidance moves us away from that core principle, by creating confusing, unnecessary distinctions for sporting bodies to navigate.

“We urge that the Sport Councils Equality Group reflect on the real-life impacts of this guidance on trans people who play sport, and support the development of more robust research, based on the current realities of trans inclusion in sport, in order to better guide governing bodies.”

Stonewall were joined in their criticism of the new guidelines by former professional cyclist Philippa York.

York, who competed as Robert Millar, won stages at each of cycling’s three Grand Tours during her career, including three at the Tour de France, a race at which she finished fourth in 1984.

York tweeted that she had not been contacted to provide her thoughts or evidence.

“I competed at elite level and I transitioned and not once have any of the research people tasked with making policy have approached me to find out what really happens in terms of performance reduction,” she said.