Outbreak of commonsense in gender debate

Outbreak of commonsense in gender debate

Two major breakthroughs in the fight to protect children and uphold fairness in women’s sports have occurred recently.

These developments offer hope for safeguarding girls' and women's rights in sporting events, as well as raising awareness about the dangers of gender-affirming medical treatments for children.

Firstly, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, Reem Alsalem, has boldly declared that only athletes born female should be permitted to compete in women’s sports.

Speaking ahead of her report to the UN General Assembly, Alsalem explained, “Sports have functioned on the universally recognised principle that a separate category for females is needed to ensure equal, fair and safe opportunities in sports.”

Her report highlights evidence that athletes born male have significant advantages in physical performance, which persist even after testosterone suppression.

In order to ensure fairness, Alsalem argues that female categories must be "exclusively accessible to persons whose biological sex is female."

This stance directly challenges the push by many LGBT+ advocates for inclusivity in sports at the expense of fairness and safety.

Alsalem’s call for reintroducing sex testing in sports—like the Olympics—reflects growing global concerns. Her report insists that failing to safeguard women’s sports constitutes “unfair, unlawful and extreme forms of discrimination” against female athletes.

The second breakthrough comes from the courtroom, where prominent Australian family law barrister Belle Lane has exposed the outdated medical information being relied upon in gender dysphoria cases involving children.

Lane has represented both sides in cases involving the medical transition of minors, and she has expressed serious concerns about the quality of evidence supporting such interventions.

According to Lane, “There’s been about eight or nine systematic reviews since 2020... but they have all come to the same conclusion: the evidence base upon which the medical pathway is built is of very low quality.”

Her concerns echo findings from the UK Cass Review, which earlier this year criticised Australia’s guidelines on gender-affirmative medicine as lacking in rigour.

Lane also highlights the emotional and physical risks to children who may not fully understand the consequences of treatments like puberty blockers.

As Professor Patrick Parkinson of the University of Queensland put it, “Perhaps the best solution would be regulation that requires significant exploratory investigation of causes of gender incongruence, with puberty blockade or sex trait modification treatment being a last resort.”

These developments offer hope that common sense will prevail, and Family First welcomes the growing global recognition that children and women’s sports must be protected from dangerous ideologies.

Family First policy is to protect girls’ and women’s sports from the encroachment of biological males and to follow the UK’s lead and close child gender clinics.

ACTION: Join the fight for girls, women and children. Join the Family First Party today.