Exclusive: Bill seeks to regulate the presence of trans women in women’s sports in Colombia, this is the proposal

A broad debate has been generated in world sport over the presence of transgender women – who identify as women regardless of their biological sex – in women’s competitions. These athletes claim their right to participate as women, while sectors of women feel at a physical disadvantage.

Recently in the Paris Olympics There was controversy over two female boxers who were admitted by the International Olympic Committee as women, while the International Boxing Organization claimed they were men. The issue is not foreign to Colombia, where the representative to the House of Representatives Mauricio Parodiof Cambio Radical, will present this Thursday a bill in the Senate with which it seeks to regulate this issue in the country under the argument of “protecting women’s sport”. In an interview with EL TIEMPO, Parodi explains the initiative and its scope.

What does the project involve?

It aims to protect the integrity of women’s sport and the space that women have earned. The female category in sport was created to include women, because previously only men participated. It was created separately due to the physiological and biological differences that exist. The project has to do with the fact that for a person to be registered in the female category, they have to be a woman, and that chromosomes are what define who is a woman and is eligible. Just as a person has to prove weight, age or medical condition, also in case of doubt about whether they are a man or a woman, it is the biological sex that determines it and not the gender identity.

Why this initiative? Are there statistics on transgender women in women’s competitions in the country?

This initiative arises because in the development of society today we agree that gender identity is respectable and a woman can identify as a woman or a man, and a man can identify as a man or a woman, and sexual preferences, regardless of their biological sex, are not up for discussion, society has approved and understood this. The issue is that when a man makes his transformation to trans woman he acquires the identity of a woman, but maintains the biological conditions of a man, which imply greater muscle mass, greater bone density, greater cardiovascular capacity, greater height, weight and strength. That is why we should not allow people who biologically have the quality of a man to compete with women because there is an obvious disadvantage and we would be putting their participation at risk, not only to achieve their sporting merits, but eventually, in contact sports, there could be a serious injury. It has been shown that a man of the same height and weight has 60% more strength than a woman for a sport such as boxing or wrestling. We want to protect the integrity of sport, fair play, and the physical and mental health of women, and the spaces they have earned, and ensure that they are not violated by pretending that gender identity is what determines who can compete in the women’s category. On the other hand, it is important to consider that trans women will not present the menstrual cycle that impacts sports performance, giving them certain advantages over biological women when they are in competitions during these natural periods, which could affect competitive balance.

But are there any cases or figures that support the project?

There is an emblematic case, which is that of the athlete Emiliana Castrillón, a volleyball player from the Antioquia League, who is a man who transformed into a woman, and through a tutela a judge protected her right to compete in the women’s category when the league regulations did not allow it, these cases are beginning to appear, as we saw in the Olympic Games with trans women who won gold in boxing, and now that the Paralympic Games are starting, there is the case of Valentina Petrilloan Italian athlete who competes in visual impairments and whose presence caused another athlete to be unable to participate because she took away her spot… We don’t have statistics, there aren’t even figures on how many trans women there are in Colombia, but what we are talking about is that science and biology should determine who is an eligible woman for the women’s category.

We have just seen what happened at the Olympics, with strong attacks on two athletes, and the debate that was generated was immense. Is Colombia prepared to have that debate?

We need to have a broad, open debate, with the participation of all social groups, male and female athletes; we want to include trans women who play sports, we want to listen to trans groups and we want to build a solution with them that is fair for everyone. There is a dilemma in which a trans woman says: ‘I have the right to compete in the women’s category because I am recognized as a woman’, but biological women say, ‘you are still a biological man because you have XY chromosomes, you have had more testosterone, you are stronger, taller and heavier than me and I am at a biological disadvantage’.

To what extent can the project be discriminatory?

I don’t think so, it’s inclusive for women. If there is no division, we will exclude women from sport. What is at risk here is women’s sport because if we allow men who undergo their transformation to women to compete as women, in one or ten years there will be many trans women taking spaces away from biological women, having unfair competition and an unfair advantage.

How to ensure that rights are not violated?

The most important thing is that. In order to be eligible to compete in the youth category, I have to prove that I am that age; in order to be eligible in contact sports that require a weight of, say, 60 kilos, I must be under 60 kilos; in order to be in Paralympic sport, I have to prove that I have the medical condition, and for the women’s category, I have to prove that I am a biological woman and have XX chromosomes…

But how are the rights of transgender women respected?

There is a situation with transgender women, and it is that because they have a feminine identity, they feel like women and want to compete with women, but if they do so, they are violating the rights and harming the women’s community. Alternatives have been proposed, such as creating a category for trans women that would be created with the development of the sport or for them to compete in the category in which they are biologically, that is the point at which we want to advance in the debate, we want this debate with all social groups.

That is, does the project contemplate a category for transgender women?

One of the articles proposes that the National Government, through the Ministry of Sport and the Ministry of the Interior, should promote the respect of the rights of these people who have created something new in society, without violating the rights
of women.

In Colombia there have been cases of transgender athletes who have reported discrimination… What do you think about these situations?

The important thing here is to protect the rights of women, who make up half of the population; to protect the integrity of women’s sport and to prevent people with a biological difference from having a competitive advantage, which would be unfair and unjust.

Is there pressure to regulate this issue, whether from parents, clubs or higher ups?

We do not want to re-victimize this population, but we do want to put on the table an important topic on the public agenda of sport. Women need us to protect women’s sport.

I have not been under pressure from anyone, I have spoken to many people, and the debate is going to be very interesting. I think it will be a debate that can be held with the greatest height, respect, and inclusion, without violating anyone’s rights, a democratic debate where the question of how far the rights of one human group end and where those of another begin will be at stake. That is the important point and I trust that Congress will have the capacity to listen, be patient, calm, and respectful, because we understand that a trans woman may feel excluded and we do not want that, because trans women have had complex lives, they have been victims of discrimination, of violence, and we do not want to re-victimize this population, but we do want to put on the table an important issue on the public agenda of sport. Women need us to protect women’s sport.

What about female athletes with high testosterone levels? Would they be banned from participating?

No, absolutely not, here the categorization would be based on biological sex, people with XX chromosomes are eligible for women and whether they have more or less testosterone will be a matter for each person, just as a woman can be 1.70 or 1.90 in basketball, but they are women with XX karyotype, so the issue of testosterone is not considered in any way.

And what would the medical checks be like?

There is no requirement that all persons be tested to register as women, nor is a biological sex verification test required; in case of doubt, the organization, or at the request of an interested party, another athlete, a parent or another citizen who feels that women’s rights are being violated, may request the test, which are tests that are easily available on the Colombian market.

What reaction do you expect from the Government and the Ministry of Sport?

I think that people will take it with interest, there will be controversial voices and we want that, we want to generate democratic, healthy, respectful controversy as a society, and I hope that we address it through what science has contributed to society.

PAUL ROMERO

Editor of EL TIEMPO

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