Submission to World Athletics on proposals impacting some women athletes with innate variations of sex characteristics
Background
In February this year, World Athletics released the latest iteration of its continually relitigated regulations on eligibility for female classification, impacting some elite women athletes with innate variations of sex characteristics who were registered female at birth.
The consultation period was unduly short. Additionally, the consultation questions are narrow in scope, and do not address our areas of concern. We have made a time-limited submission responding to issues specifically as they impact cisgender women with innate variations of sex characteristics.
Our submission was written by Dr Morgan Carpenter and reviewed by our board and staff.
Our recommendations
- All women with innate variations of sex characteristics (differences of sex
development/intersex variations) who were registered female at birth should be
permitted to compete in the female category. - Any World Athletics “DSD regulations” should not be merged with any regulations for
transgender/gender diverse women. - World Athletics should work to promote community-based participatory research
promoting the health, wellbeing and participation in sport of women and other people
with innate variations of sex characteristics.
Links
We also commend the submission by the Australia and New Zealand Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes (ANZSPED). Read the ANZSPED submission (PDF format)
Read the consultation documents by World Athletics:
- World Athletics. 2025a. ‘Recommendations to the Eligibility Conditions for the Female Category’. https://worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=f60e2417-fcdd-4a13-8ce8-6cf9897e59ce.pdf.
- World Athletics. 2025b. ‘World Athletics Launches New Stakeholder Consultation on Female Eligibility’. 11 February 2025. https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/world-athletics-launches-new-stakeholder-consultation-on-female-eligibility.
Radio interview:
Listen to Sally Sara interview Dr Morgan Carpenter on this issue, on ABC Radio National Breakfast.
‘World Athletics Brings in Stricter Testing of Female Athletes’. 2025. ABC Radio National Breakfast. Radio National. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/world-athletics/104926346.