United Nations human rights activist calls for equality and stronger protections for women and girls in sports

The United Nations addressed the participation of biological men competing in women's sports as a human rights issue during a meeting of the General Assembly on October 8.

Reem Alsalem, special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, spoke with Fox News Digital about the report she gave to all 193 UN member countries, which advocated for the safety of women and girls in sports.

"It's not a cultural issue, it's not an individual issue, it's a human rights issue," Alsalem told Fox News Digital. Her report looks at all forms of violence that women and girls around the world experience when playing sports, which includes the opening up of the female category to biological males.

"The primordial concern in the sporting world is about competition, is about winning, is about the reputation of the athlete and the reputation of the sporting organization, so anything that may undermine that gets pushed under the rug and is not addressed or dealt with the way it should be," she said. 

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Reem Alsalem, special rapporteur on violence against women and girls at the United Nations, advocates for the safety of women and girls in sports. (ADF International)

Alsalem said she looked at the "perpetrators of violence" against women in sports, which can include coaches and fellow athletes, as part of her report, and made recommendations to all relevant stakeholders, including states, sports bodies, schools, as well as women and girls who compete in sports. 

In the U.S. and other Western countries, Alsalem argued that the policies that allow biological men to compete in women's sports are "denying them [women] their femaleness." 

"They are saying that we don't recognize sex as being rooted in biology and therefore, we will allow anyone to compete in a female category if they are biologically male, but identify as females," she said. "So, biological sex as a determinant of the female category is not important, what matters is how you feel about it."

"In Afghanistan, [for example], when they exclude women, it's very clear to them that they're excluding those women because they are women and because of their female sex," she continued. "So, ironically, in many ways, they know what that woman is, and they're not debating the reason why they are discriminating and persecuting women. It's because they are females, they're seen as the lesser sex and all the approaches to that, the misogyny and the patriarchal ideas that surround that."

In her report, Alsalem calls for the creation of open categories in sports competition and the introduction of non-invasive and confidential sex screenings to ensure inclusive participation, as well as fairness, safety and dignity for female athletes. 

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Alsalem warned that biological men competing in women's sports is "denying them [women] their femaleness." (Reem Alsalem)

But, Alsalem argued that the issue extends beyond competition as it opens up private women's spaces to those individuals who are biologically male but identify as female, including bathrooms and locker rooms outside of sports. She also said the issue is not unique to the U.S., describing it as a "worrisome trend" she has observed in a number of countries. 

"Women are saying ‘we want our female spaces, biological sex is central to our experiences as women and our experiences of discrimination and violence, but when we say that, we are being punished, we lose jobs, we are attacked online and offline, we are threatened, we are even sued in courts, and we are vilified,'" she said. 

Alsalem also mentioned the Title IX reforms put forth by the Biden administration as limiting opportunities for women under a law that was first enacted to protect them. 

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was originally a 37-word provision barring schools that receive federal funding from discriminating against students on the basis of sex, ensuring equal opportunity for women in the educational setting.

The Biden Administration, under Title IX, has expanded the definition of sex discrimination and harassment to include gender identity and sexual orientation, which athletes, experts and activists have argued will have significant implications for women-only spaces. 

Alsalem publicly warned the Biden Administration in December 2023 that altering the definition of what it means to be a woman under Title IX would result in a "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."    

For example, she said that under the new changes to Title IX, men identifying as women would now be eligible for scholarships previously reserved for female athletes. 

"Females in sport are getting such a small slice of the cake," she said. "They have so few opportunities, that by opening those few opportunities now to males, you're reducing their opportunities even more." 

"That is not only so unjust and unfair, but is a representation of that discrimination against women because they are women or because they are girls," she added. "It's a new manifestation of the patriarchy."

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United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Reem Alsalem (L) and UN Human Rights Officer Orlagh McCann (R) address a press conference in Ankara on July 27, 2022. (ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

After Alsalem presented her report at the UN, U.S. Adviser for the Third Committee, Dylan Lang, responded to Alsalem's findings in which he admitted that women and girls face challenges, such as violence, harassment, and discrimination, but criticized her "demeaning language to refer to transgender persons."

"Your report appropriately says that all persons, irrespective of their gender identity, are entitled to live a life free from discrimination," he said. "Unfortunately, in that same report, you erroneously conflate transgender persons with intersex persons or others with naturally occurring variations in sex characteristics, and use demeaning language to refer to transgender persons."

Lang, then went on to praise American female athletes "who stand for equality and safety in sports," including the USA Gymnastics athletes who spoke out about abuse they experienced at the hands of team doctor Larry Nasser, Simone Biles' break from gymnastics, which highlighted the importance of mental health, and Olympian and activist Megan Rapinoe who fought for equal pay for women U.S. soccer players. 

Rapinoe, notably, was among the female athletes who signed a letter to the NCAA, urging the organization not to enact a policy that would bar trans athletes from competing in women’s sports. She was asked in July 2023 if she would support a trans woman playing on the United States Women’s National Team, even if it meant replacing a biological female. 

"That’s the part of the argument that’s still extremely transphobic," Rapinoe said in response. "I see trans women as real women."

In June 2024, a reporter asked Rapinoe: "Your U.S. women’s soccer team famously lost to high school boys. Do you really think it’s fair for these same boys to be competing in girls’ sports?" She ignored the question. 

Alsalem responded to the U.S. Adviser, arguing that the "demeaning language" in which she referred to males who identify as women as exactly that, as "factually correct."

"Human rights language and principles must continue to be consistent with science and facts, including biological ones," she said. "Multiple studies have offered evidence that athletes born male have proven performance advantages in sports throughout their life, although this is most apparent after puberty." 

"At the same time, nondiscrimination based on sex is recognized in all major international human rights agreements and … sex must be understood in its ordinary meaning to mean biological sex and conflating sex and gender identity throughout the creation of a legal sex category has been confusing and problematic."

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Alsalem told Fox News Digital that she has discouraged the use of the term "culture war" because she believes it diminishes the safety of women and girls in sports to a lifestyle issue or ideological issue. 

"It reduces the importance and what is at stake," she said. "It's a rights issue, so I would prefer that we call it a rights war or a battle about rights because it is about something really important and core to the dignity and rights of women."

"When we use the word ‘culture war,’ the image it evokes is that those who assert the rights to female-only categories or spaces are people that are maybe culturally backward or conservative, but it has nothing to do with being liberal or conservative," she said. "It has everything to do with arguing for your human rights entitlements, you are right to ask for this, you're not being backward or inconsiderate."