FINA Bans Transgender Women From Women’s Swimming Events

FINA, which is the organization that governs the world body for swimming, has voted to effectively ban transgender women from participating in women’s swimming competitions. With 71.5% approval at the FINA Extraordinary General Congress 2022 in Budapest, the vote has put a block on the ongoing fight for trans athletes.

Under the FINA new policy, transgender women must show that “they have not experienced any part of male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2 or before age 12, whichever is later,” which effectively eliminates their eligibility to compete in the women’s category.

Anne Lieberman, director of policy and programs at Athlete Ally, an organization that advocates for LGBTQIA+ equality in sports stated: “The eligibility criteria for the women’s category as it is laid out in the policy police the bodies of all women, and will not be enforceable without seriously violating the privacy and human rights of any athlete looking to compete in the women’s category.”

Source: NPR