The International Olympic Committee issued new advice regarding rules for transgender athletes Tuesday.
The advice changed the direction of transgender policy from focusing on an athlete’s testosterone level and requesting evidence to proving that a performance advantage was in place.
“No athlete should be precluded from competing or excluded from competition on the exclusive ground of an unverified, alleged, or perceived unfair competitive advantage due to their sex variation, physical appearance and/or transgender status,” the IOC wrote in its “IOC Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations.”
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The document is six pages and follows discussions with human rights experts, athletes, and medical experts, according to the IOC.
The advice serves to update a previous review from 2015 that established limits on an athlete’s permitted testosterone level.
Establishing limits led to procedures that are now deemed “medically unnecessary,” according to the release.
“Eligibility criteria have sometimes resulted in severe harm,” the IOC said.
Through this new framework, “the IOC seeks to promote a safe and welcoming environment for everyone involved in elite-level competition, consistent with the principles enshrined in the Olympic Charter,” the IOC release read. “The Framework also acknowledges the central role that eligibility criteria play in ensuring fairness, particularly in high-level [organized] sport in the women’s category.”
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The IOC advisory document is not legally binding for individual governing bodies that regulate their own sports, according to a report.
