The United Nations is facing renewed calls to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports after a study revealed that nearly 900 medals have been lost to biological males.
A UN report into ‘violence against women and girls, its causes and consequence’ found that up to 30 March 2024, ‘over 600 female athletes in more than 400 competitions have lost more than 890 medals in 29 different sports’
‘The replacement of the female sports category with a mixed-sex category has resulted in an increasing number of female athletes losing opportunities, including medals, when competing against males,’ Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem wrote.
Following the report, which was published in August, campaigners have again urged the authorities to do more to protect female athletes.
During a panel last week, Kristen Waggoner of ‘Alliance Defending Freedom’ insisted that ‘high school athletes and college girls should not be expected to have to stand up for their own rights.’
The United Nations is facing calls to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports
![Lia Thomas became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I title in 2022](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/10/22/15/91147961-13987739-image-a-1_1729607413811.jpg)
Lia Thomas became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I title in 2022
Instead, Waggoner argued, ‘our institutions, our government officials and our parents should be standing (up) for them.’
‘The reality is that an average male athlete can often beat an elite female athlete on the field. This is why so many sports have been separated on the basis of sex,’ she said.
‘The creation of female athletic spaces has never been about division, it’s about recognizing objective, biological differences and empowering women and girls – in light of those differences – to reward genuine merit.
‘The science demonstrates that males have an insurmountable advantage over females and there is no amount of testosterone suppressants that takes away that advantage.’
There has been growing controversy and debate over the future of women’s sports in recent years, notably since swimmer Lia Thomas became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division 1 title in 2022.
![The University of Nevada Reno women's volleyball team refused to compete against a rival team with a transgender player](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/10/22/15/90966703-13987739-Support_continued_to_pour_in_for_the_University_of_Nevada_Reno_w-a-3_1729607531987.jpg)
The University of Nevada Reno women’s volleyball team refused to compete against a rival team with a transgender player
Earlier this month, the University of Nevada Reno women’s volleyball team refused to compete against a rival team with a transgender player.
UNR’s women’s volleyball team found itself at odds with its own university when it opposed the school’s wish to compete against San Jose State University and transgender player Blaire Fleming.
Nevada became the fifth team to opt to forfeit a game against SJSU with Fleming cited as the reason due to safety concerns.
The Biden administration has sought to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students, prompting Republicans to claim the new Title IX rule is a ruse to allow transgender student-athletes to play on girls’ athletic teams. The White House insisted the new Title IX rule does not apply to athletics.
![The team refused to play San Jose State and transgender player Blaire Fleming (pictured)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/10/22/15/90966707-13987739-The_team_refused_to_play_San_Jose_State_and_transgender_player_B-a-4_1729607536160.jpg)
The team refused to play San Jose State and transgender player Blaire Fleming (pictured)
Alsalem claimed ‘the failure to protect the female category is one of the most egregious forms of violence against women and girls’ while Waggoner argued that ‘allowing biological men into women’s sports not only erases fair playing field, it places females in physical danger’.
‘Evident physical differences demand that categories are separated on the basis on sex in sport – that’s basic fairness,’ she continued.
‘The risk extends beyond the playing field – women and girls have the right to privacy and safety and these are flouted every single time a member of the opposite sex enters into women’s intimate spaces.
‘The violation of these spaces leaves women’s and girls extremely vulnerable and could rightfully lead them to question if they want to pursue athletics at all. When laws and policies lose touch with biological reality, women and girls suffer the most.’