WOMEN & SPORT
INCLUSIVE SPORT
A Guide to Writing Single-Sex Sport Policies
The vast majority of sports NGBs affiliated to Sport England do not protect the legal rights of women and girls to fair and safe sport, despite the requirements of the UK Equality Act 2010.
Sports providers must provide safe and fair sport on the field of play, and must comply with laws to provide privacy, dignity and safety for females using changing rooms and toilets. The law applies to sports’ governing bodies, and organisers of sports and fitness activities such as fun runs and sports taster sessions. All levels of sports and fitness activity are included from grassroots recreational through to elite competition and all ages from children to ‘masters’
The Women’s Rights Network has written guidance to aid sports’ providers that are updating their Transgender Policy documents.
NEW GUIDES
Inclusive Sport: A Guide to Writing Single-Sex Sports Policies
A short guide to writing policies that comply with the law. Aimed at Sports’ NGBs, Fitness and Activity Providers; Event and competition organisers; Diversity and Inclusion Officers, Safeguarding Officers and Sports Coaches.
Sex Segregated Sport in the UK: A Lawful Approach to Policy Making
An in-depth guide to complying with the Equality Act 2010 and the Sports Councils Equality Group recommendations.
TEMPLATE LETTER
Contact your Sports' Governing Body and let them know how you feel about allowing males into female categories of sport (and into changing rooms and toilets). Use our template letter and adapt it with your own words or send it, as is. Check our Fair Sports Awards for links to sports' transgender policies and contact details.
For further guidance please contact us.
BIOLOGY
MATTERS
We play sport with our bodies, and therefore, in the interests of fairness, we must keep sporting categories separated on the basis of sex, and not gender identity. We know that men are bigger and stronger than women, and we know that this is the result of a testosterone fuelled puberty.
We have more than enough data to know that in any sporting event that requires speed, strength, grip, resistance or fast reactions then women can’t win against men, all other things being equal.
The differences are so pronounced, that when the athletics results of high achieving US schoolboys are compared to 2016 Olympic Women's Finalists, the boys win everything. In many events, the best women athletes in the world don’t even qualify for the boys’ event finals.
OPEN LETTER
TO PARKRUN
We at WRN do not think it is right that parkrun are recording runners times by self-identified "gender identity". We believe that sex is real, and sex matters for sports, and we wrote to parkrun to explain why their policy of recording gender identity instead of sex hurts women.
You can download that letter below. If you agree with us, please write to parkrun with your own views. Send a hard copy to:
CEO Russ Jefferys - parkrun UK, Frameworks, 2 Sheen Road, RICHMOND, Surrey TW9 1AE
And/or email to support@parkrun.com
Is your sport fair? We’ve awarded the Women’s Rights Network Fair Sport Awards to those sports that have fair and safe policies for women and girls from grassroots through to elite.
Are they one of our "Fair Sport Award" winners or a rotten tomato?
FAIR SPORT AWARD GOLD
FAIR SPORT AWARD SILVER
WATER POLO
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READ OUR BLOGS
Fair Play For Women: Fair Play For Women is a campaigning and consultancy group which raises awareness, provides evidence and analysis, and works to protect the rights of women and girls in the UK.
Web: Fair Play For Women
Social Media: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Save Womens Sport: A coalition that seeks to preserve biology-based eligibility standards for participation in female sports.
Web: Save Womens Sport
Social Media: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | You Tube
Sex Matters: A group lobbying for clarity on sex in law and institutions, publishing research, guidance and analysis and holding organisations accountable.
Web: Sex Matters
Social Media: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Linked In
