June 18, 2018: We the undersigned organizations express our unwavering support for the challenge Caster Semenya and her legal team have brought to the Court for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) today regarding a recent IAAF ruling that openly discriminates against female athletes. This regulation would force women with higher natural testosterone to undergo medically unnecessary intervention in order to compete in a sport they have dedicated their lives to — despite insufficient evidence that there is unfair performance advantage caused by higher natural testosterone.
The IAAF ruling sets a dangerous precedent for the continued policing and scrutiny of women’s bodies that have tainted women’s sport for so long. What is at stake here is far more than the right to participate in a sport. Women’s bodies, their wellbeing, their ability to earn a livelihood, their very identity, their privacy and sense of safety and belonging in the world, are at imminent risk.
We stand in solidarity with Caster Semenya and all female athletes whose human rights are compromised under the false pretense of “protecting” women’s sports. We demand the IAAF rescind these discriminatory regulations and stand with female athletes globally in pursuit of an equitable and inclusive athletic experience.
- Women’s Sports Foundation
- Athlete Ally
- Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity
- ChampionWomen
- GLSEN
- Global Justice Institute, Metropolitan Community Churches
- Human Rights Campaign
- InterAct
- International Working Group on Women and Sports
- LGBT SafeSport Inclusion Program
- National Women’s Law Center
- OutRight International
- Out in Athletics
- Tucker Center for Research on Women & Girls
- WomenWin
