The Football Association of Wales (FAW) and the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) have amended their eligibility policies to ensure that competitors take part based on their biological sex, rather than self-identification.
The news follows an intervention by legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which said it had written to 10 sporting bodies, warning them that allowing men to take part in women’s sports was a violation of the law.
While both the FAW and the RYA confirmed their policies have been amended, the other bodies indicated to ADF that there were in the process of updating their policies.
ADF rested its case on last year’s landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers. The ruling essentially stated that biological sex determined the definition of the terms “man” and “woman” in the Equality Act 2010.
Robert Clarke, Director of Advocacy at ADF in London, said, “As a matter of law, the definition of sex is not up for debate. We have seen in the UK and beyond that allowing men into the female category erodes women and girls’ opportunities and places them at risk.
“The law and Britain’s highest court both recognise this, and the updated EHRC [Equalities and Human Rights Commission] guidance reaffirms the critical importance of preserving single-sex spaces, services and sporting categories. In light of this, sporting bodies have a responsibility to ensure their policies reflect biology, not ideology.”
Clarke warned that a number of bodies had yet to update their policies and could face “substantial legal liability”.
The news was welcomed by former Olympic swimmer and current Conservative peer, Sharron Davies, who won silver at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
She said, “I welcome the significant progress that has been made – but it is not enough. As long as women and girls are exposed to harmful situations and subjected to an unfair playing field, they will continue to lose out or opt out. The law, the Supreme Court ruling and the EHRC Code of Practice are crystal-clear: there is no excuse for inaction or for ambiguous policies that do not go far enough to protect women and comply with the law.”
