IOC urged to abandon genetic sex testing plans for female athletes
More than 80 human rights and sport advocacy organisations have urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to abandon reported plans for universal genetic sex testing of female athletes.
Multiple sources claim the IOC’s Protection of the Female Category Working Group has recommended the testing alongside a sweeping ban on transgender and intersex competitors.
The global sports body has not publicly confirmed the proposals and is expected to reveal official findings in the first half of 2026.
‘Catastrophic erosion of women’s rights’
A joint statement from groups including the Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) and ILGA World warned that the measures would severely undermine gender equity.
Andrea Florence, executive director of the SRA, fiercely condemned the reported policy recommendations.
“Gender policing and exclusion harms all women and girls, and undermines the very dignity and fairness the IOC claims to uphold.”
Payoshni Mitra, executive director of Humans of Sport, added that mandatory testing violates privacy and exposes child athletes to safeguarding risks.
Advocates also argue that prohibiting transgender and intersex athletes disregards the significant barriers and systemic disadvantages they already face.
Reversing decades of policy
The Olympic governing body previously ceased universal sex testing after the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Human rights groups contend that reinstating these protocols would directly contradict the organisation’s own 2021 framework on fairness and non-discrimination.
International bodies such as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the World Medical Association have previously denounced related interventions as discriminatory.
However, other major governing bodies have recently tightened their own regulations regarding female competition categories.
World Athletics introduced an SRY gene test for all female competitors prior to the World Championships in Tokyo.
