December 28, 2023
On December 27, 2023, Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, issued a statement titled, “United States: Proposed Title IX changes will impact rights of women and girls in sports and education.” The U.S. chapter of Women’s Declaration International (WDI USA) could not be more grateful for her support for American women and girls.
At issue is a set of proposed rule changes issued by the U.S. Department of Education in April 2023. These proposed rule changes would require schools to allow male athletes to participate in athletics designed for women and girls under certain circumstances—including competition and access to women’s locker rooms and restrooms. If implemented, these rule changes would conflict with Articles 7 and 8 of the Declaration on Women’s Sex-Based Rights. Article 7 demands that women and girls have access to female-only athletics and Article 8 calls for an end to violence against women and girls, including the violence of permitting men and boys access to female-only spaces.
The April 2023 proposed rule changes follow on previous rule changes from July 2022. The July 2022 proposed changes would have redefined sex to include “gender identity” for all Title IX purposes, which WDI USA adamantly opposes. The Department received more than 200 thousand public comments in response to the July 2022 proposed changes—the most in the Department’s history. The April 2023 proposed rule changes appear to be a bit of a compromise, in that although they would not redefine sex to include “gender identity” for all Title IX purposes, they would require schools to allow “gender identity” to override sex under certain circumstances, which is still unacceptable.
As we said in a statement issued after the April 2023 proposed rule changes were announced:
WDI USA is pleased to see that the Department: (1) is no longer proposing to redefine sex to include “gender identity;” and (2) now appears to acknowledge the material reality of sex.
But we also noted that we continued to have concerns:
This is an acknowledgement of the material reality of sex, which WDI USA is pleased to see. However, it also assumes that “gender identity” is a coherent concept that might, under some circumstances, be permitted to obscure the material reality of sex, which should never happen. And the Department seems to expect schools to understand how to navigate all of this even if they want to maintain single-sex sports, which Title IX and the Constitution permit them to do.
We encouraged U.S. signatories to the Declaration on Women’s Sex-Based rights to submit comments to both the July 2022 and the April 2023 proposed changes.
In her statement, Special Rapporteur Alsalem says:
“I share the concern expressed by women and girl athletes and women sports associations, as well as women and girls on sports scholarships, that the proposed Title IX rule changes would have detrimental effects on the participation of biological women and girls in sports, including by denying them the opportunity to compete fairly, resulting in the loss of athletic and scholarship opportunities.”
“More importantly, it would lead to the loss of privacy, an increased risk of physical injury, heightened exposure to sexual harassment and voyeurism, as well as a more frequent and accumulated psychological distress due to the loss of privacy and fair and equal sporting and academic opportunities.”
“If the proposed changes are adopted, they would contravene the United States’ international human rights obligations and commitments concerning the prevention of all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls on the basis of sex.”
Her statement concludes:
The expert has been in contact with the Government of the United States of America about these concerns.
The U.S. Department of Education is now on notice, not only from countless women across America but also from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, that its attempts to obscure the material reality of sex are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Thank you, Special Rapporteur Alsalem, for taking this important step.
