International Olympic Committee has no right to become ‘gender police’ of the world
(Amsterdam, March 17, 2026) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) should abandon potential plans to mandate genetic sex testing and ban transgender and intersex athletes, the Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA), ILGA World, Humans of Sport and over 80 other allied organizations said in a joint statement released today.
Multiple sources have reported that the opaque “Working Group on the protection of the female category,” has recommended the IOC implement universal genetic sex testing of all women and girl athletes and a complete ban on transgender and intersex athletes. This would constitute an astounding rollback on gender equality and set women’s sport back 30 years.
“A sex testing and blanket ban policy would be a catastrophic erosion of women’s rights and safety” said Andrea Florence, Executive Director of the Sport & Rights Alliance. “Gender policing and exclusion harms all women and girls, and undermines the very dignity and fairness the IOC claims to uphold. Our concerns are compounded by the fact that the IOC also seems to be, at the same time, divesting from the safe sport infrastructure that actually provides protection for women and girls.”
After the 1996 Olympic Games, the IOC voted to discontinue universal sex testing for being scientifically and ethically unjustifiable, since it was an inaccurate test of both sex and athletic advantage and was resulting in considerable harm to affected athletes. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Women, the World Medical Association, American Medical Association and, most recently, a group of independent UN experts have long condemned sex testing and medically unnecessary interventions as discriminatory, unethical, and harmful.
“Requiring women and girls to undergo mandatory genetic screening just to participate in sport would revive a practice that – even if it’s a ‘one-time test’ – violates women’s and girls’ privacy, exposes them to extreme public scrutiny, humiliation, and opens a pathway to medically unnecessary interventions,” said Dr. Payoshni Mitra, Executive Director of Humans of Sport. “People often forget that child athletes compete at the Olympics and international competitions – this policy would cause massive safeguarding risks by requiring young women and children’s bodies to be investigated and their intimate health information disclosed, potentially leading to permanent harm to their dignity, mental health, and safety.”
Banning transgender and intersex athletes in the name of “fairness” ignores the reality that these athletes are some of the most stigmatized groups in sport, disproportionately facing barriers to access, widespread harassment and abuse, and other disadvantages. There is no evidence that policing women’s and children’s bodies improves fairness or gender equality; instead, it shifts the focus away from real issues like unequal funding, access to training, pay disparities, and gender-based violence in sport.
“Sport should be a place of belonging,” said Julia Ehrt, Executive Director of ILGA World. “We urge the IOC to prioritize safety over politics and not allow a policy that actively puts all women at risk. Invasive policing of women’s bodies should concern everyone as it reinforces harmful stereotypes and exposes all women and LGBTI athletes to further harassment and scrutiny.”
This new policy would represent a total reversal of the IOC’s own 2021 Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination – a widely-respected document informed by extensive research and engagement with over 250 athletes and experts, which recognized the need for evidence-based, sport-specific, and rights-respecting eligibility rules. The IOC has ignored repeated requests for transparency on the Working Group’s approach and genuine consultation with impacted athletes, leading researchers on trans and intersex athletic performance, and human rights experts.The IOC should adhere to its own good governance standards, and ensure independent scientific and human rights scrutiny.
“The IOC must not turn its back on women and girls of color,” said Francine Niyonsaba, Olympic Silver medalist from Burundi. “I gave so much time and effort to building the 2021 Framework and have repeatedly shared my views. I hope the IOC will not ignore us. As a Black African woman, I ask the IOC to ensure international sport upholds athletes’ human rights and does not promote institutionalised discrimination.”
In recent years, sport eligibility regulations have targeted women of color from the Global South, often with no evidence and on the basis of appearance. Mandatory genetic sex testing stems directly from these efforts and will continue to disproportionately harm these women and girls who are already more likely to face discrimination and barriers to access sport.
“As an Olympian who competed against Caster Semenya in the 2009 World Championships, I know first hand that inclusion does not come at the expense of fairness,” said Dr Madeleine Pape, sociologist at the University of Lausanne. “It would be devastating to see the IOC reject fair and evidence-based policymaking in favor of an irresponsible and politically expedient position, while ignoring the actual needs of women and girls in sport. The Olympic Movement deserves better than that.”
Finally, the IOC and International Federations (IFs) are in no position to oversee how mandatory genetic screening will be implemented across 200+ diverse national contexts. While this has the potential to harm all women and girls, the harms would be particularly pronounced in Global South countries that have fewer resources and protections for athletes. According to the U.S.-based non-profit The Inclusion Playbook, the sex verification testing proposed by the IOC can cost upwards of $10,000 USD per athlete; how IFs or other governing bodies will pay for these costs remains to be seen.
The Sport & Rights Alliance, ILGA World, Humans of Sport and the undersigned organizations call on the IOC to immediately reverse these plans to sex test and ban women on the basis of their chromosome status, and to fulfill its commitments in the Olympic Charter to ensure that every individual has “access to the practice of sport, without discrimination of any kind in respect of internationally recognised human rights.”
View the statement in Spanish and Italian.
Signatory Organizations
- Access to Good Health Nigeria initiative
- Activ’Elles
- Alwan Foundation
- Argentina Intersex
- Asociación Red de Jóvenes para la Incidencia Política
- Best Practices Policy Project
- Bi+ Pride Victoria
- BIMBA
- Brown Girl Woke
- Canadian Women’s Wheelchair Rugby Program – Northern Lights
- Centre for Sport Policy Studies
- Colombia Diversa
- Consortium for Intersectional Justice
- Crème de la crème house of fame foundation Nigeria
- Direitos Humanos Intersexo Angola (DHIA)
- Égale Canada
- Equality Australia
- European Gay & Lesbian Sports Federation
- FairSquare
- Fare network
- Feminist Sport Lab
- Football v Homophobia
- Football v Transphobia
- Fundacja Interakcja, Polska (Interaction Foundation, Poland)
- Gamut 1
- Gendered Intelligence
- GIN SSOGIE
- Global Alliance For Queer Leaders (GAQL)
- Haus of Khameleon
- Humans of Sport
- IGLYO – The International LGBTQI Youth & Student Organisation
- ILGA World – the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association
- InterAction Switzerland (Swiss intersex association)
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Ethics, Regulation and Integrity in Sport, KU Leuven
- interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth
- International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
- International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA)
- Just Futures Collaborative
- Just.Equal Australia Inc
- LEAP Sports Scotland
- Lex Athleta
- LSVD+ – Federation Queer Diversity
- MANODIVERSA
- MOSAIC, MENA Organisation for Services Advocacy Integration and Capacity Building
- Moving The Goalposts
- National Women’s Law Center
- NNID Foundation, Netherlands expertise center for sex diversity
- Oceania Pride
- One Future Collective
- Organisation Intersex International Europe e.V. (OII Europe)
- Orgullo Ecatepec A.C
- Oui Pour La Vie
- Outright International
- Pratyay Gender Support
- Pride Sports
- Pride Cup
- Pride House International
- Proud2Play
- Queer Women Leaders Uganda (QWLU)
- Queer WorX
- Queer Youth Group
- Rainbow Afghanistan
- ReportOUT
- Right Side HRD NGO
- Savie ASBL NGO LGBTQ DRC
- SAWASF
- Sex og Politikk (IPPF Norway)
- Sexuality Policy Watch (SPW)
- South Asia Transgender Network
- Spectrum
- Sport & Rights Alliance
- Te Tiare Association Inc
- TGEU — Trans Europe and Central Asia
- The Collective Asé
- The Diversity Storr
- The Flying Bats Football Club
- The Gender Lab
- The Inclusion Playbook
- The Kolanut Collective (TKC)
- Tonga Leitis Association
- TransAthlete.com
- Trans Affirmative Action Guild (TAAG)
- Transfamily Incorporated
- Transgender Netwerk
- Trans Pride Toronto
- Tuvalu Akanda Alliance
- University of Toronto
- Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism
- Women Deliver
- Women Win
About the Sport & Rights Alliance
The Sport & Rights Alliance’s mission is to promote the rights and well-being of those most affected by human rights risks associated with the delivery of sport. Its partners include Amnesty International, The Assist, Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), Football Supporters Europe, Human Rights Watch, ILGA World – The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Transparency International, and World Players Association, UNI Global Union. As a global coalition of leading nongovernmental organizations and trade unions, the Sport & Rights Alliance works together to ensure sports bodies, governments, and other relevant stakeholders give rise to a world of sport that protects, respects, and fulfills international standards for human rights, labour rights, child wellbeing and safeguarding, and anti-corruption.
About Humans of Sport
Humans of Sport (HoS) is an organisation dedicated to empowering athletes and transforming the world of sport by securing their livelihoods, remedying injustices, and strengthening their access to fundamental rights. The organisation works with athletes harmed by sex-testing policies in sport globally, with particular focus on athletes coming from Asia and Africa.
About ILGA World
ILGA World is a worldwide federation of more than 2,000 organisations from over 170 countries and territories campaigning for the human rights of people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and sex characteristics. https://ilga.org
