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In a much anticipated announcement of updated policy recommendations for transgender and intersex athlete participation, the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday announced a new framework for individual international federations to develop their own eligibility criteria, instead of a blanket policy.
The new guidance replaces the previous 2015 consensus statement and is a departure from previous iterations of IOC policy governing transgender and intersex athlete participation, which was uniform across sports and utilized testosterone levels to determine eligibility for women’s sports. It does not require international federations to adopt specific policies, but rather focuses on the process of policy development.
“The framework is not legally binding,” said IOC director of the athletes’ department Keveh Mehrabi. “What we are offering to all the international federations is our expertise and a dialogue, rather than jumping to a conclusion. This is a process that we have to go through with each federation on a case by case basis and see what is required.”
The new framework focuses on 10 principles: inclusion, prevention of harm, non-discrimination, fairness, no presumption of advantage, evidence based approach, primacy of health and bodily autonomy, stakeholder centered approach, right to privacy, and periodic reviews. International Federations developing their eligibility criteria are instructed to consider all 10 of the principles holistically, rather than picking and choosing some over others.
“As with any set of guidelines, the success of this new framework in ensuring a safe and welcoming environment within the Olympic movement will largely depend on the education and implementation process with national governing bodies, international federations, and other key stakeholders,” Athlete Ally director of policy and programs Anne Lieberman said in a statement.
In developing this new guidance, the IOC consulted with over 250 athletes and stakeholders across…
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Source : espn
