Paris (AFP)
The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday called on the international athletics federation to stop femininity tests, targeting in particular hyperandrogenic athletes like Caster Semenya, deeming these practices "discriminatory" and undermining "dignity "sports.
"Sports authorities have created through their regulations environments which force some women to perform invasive and unnecessary medical interventions in order to compete in certain disciplines (...) women from southern countries have been disproportionately affected," writes the NGO in its report which includes testimonials from athletes.
The rules of World Athletics (International Athletics Federation) "discriminate on the basis of the sex, the expression of gender of these women. Femininity tests violate many fundamental rights protected internationally including privacy, dignity , health, non-discrimination, freedom from abuse, and employment rights, ”HRW writes.
Since April 2018, the International Athletics Federation has required women with a natural excess of male sex hormones to lower their testosterone levels through treatment in order to align with certain international events.
The settlement concerns in particular the South African Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya, who refuses to comply, but intends to turn to the European Court of Human Rights after being dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS ).
HRW, which in its report recommends to World Athletics (WA) to abolish its regulations, also appeals to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
"This report was not written by impartial experts but by supporters of one side of this debate. World Athletics was not asked to respond to the allegations in the report, which could have provided the necessary balance. to this very complex question, "replied the body in a statement.
"We remain committed to the equity of all women in sport and reject claims that biological boundaries are constructed based on racial or gender stereotypes," WA writes.
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