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In a recent United Nations report, it was revealed that as of March 30, 2024, over 600 female athletes in more than 400 competitions have lost more than 890 medals to their transgender counter parts in 29 different sports.
The report, called 'Violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences', was made by Jordanian civil servant and UN Special Rapporteur, Reem Alsalem. It goes into detailing the disadvantages and obstacles women across the world face in sports due to their gender.
One of the aspects it focuses on is the inclusion of transgender athletes, (who are referred to as 'male athletes that identify as females' in the report) in female categories of sports.
"The replacement of the female sports category with a mixed-sex category has resulted in an increasing number of female athletes losing opportunities, including medals, when competing against males," the report said.
The report also said that while these transgender athletes are asked to take testosterone suppresents and maintain hormone levels, "pharmaceutical testosterone suppression for genetically male athletes – irrespective of how they identify – will not eliminate the set of comparative performance advantages they have already acquired."
Further, it alleges that because these hormone drugs will flagged in drugs test, transgender athletes aren't drug tested as often and insinuated that they might be taking drugs that provide further advantages.
In another section, the report said that the mere presence of transgender athletes in female sports cause the female participants severe psychological distress.
"The knowledge of female athletes that they may be competing against males included in female sports, including males that identify as females or males with specific XY differences in sex development, causes extreme psychological distress due to the physical disadvantage, the loss of opportunity for fair competition and of educational and economic opportunities and the violation of their privacy in locker rooms and other intimate spaces," the report said.
Further the report said, "Removing single-sex spaces in sports may also increase the risk of sexual harassment, assault, voyeurism and physical and sexual attacks in unisex locker rooms and toilets."
Invasive sex tests are also major problem, the report claimed, but added that in some cases it is necessary, citing the controversy of Imane Khelif, where, the report alleged, "the International Olympic Committee refused to carry out a sex screening."
Referring to the biases that occur due to the need to support the LGBTQ+ community, the report said, "Female athletes and coaches who object to the inclusion of men in their spaces due to concerns about safety, privacy and fairness are silenced or forced to self-censor; otherwise, they risk losing sporting opportunities, scholarships78 and sponsorships."
The Special Rapporteur has categorically stated in the UN report, "To avoid the loss of a fair opportunity, males must not compete in the female categories of sport."