IOC scrap their Human Rights Framework
29th March 2026
New Eligibility Policy introduced
LEAP Sports is disappointed and concerned by the International Olympic Committee’s decision to introduce mandatory sex testing and we oppose the decision to exclude transgender women and most women with intersex variations from women’s competition. The previous IOC human rights Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination has been scrapped with the introduction of this new policy, which raises many scientific, ethical, legal, safeguarding, and equity issues.
This policy represents a significant step backwards for inclusion in sport. The numerous scientific flaws of mandatory genetic sex testing led to such practices being discredited and the IOC ending this practice more than a quarter of a century ago. By reintroducing genetic testing and restricting participation based on narrow definitions of sex, the IOC risks subjecting all women to increased scrutiny, stigma, and potential harm, without clear evidence that such measures improve fairness or safety. Read more here.
Human rights experts and organisations have warned that the new approach risks violating fundamental rights, including dignity, privacy, and non-discrimination, with sex verification practices having long been criticised as invasive, unreliable, and discriminatory.
Policies like this do not exist in isolation, they send a powerful signal throughout the sporting system, and are especially harmful to women's inclusive sport. At a grassroots level, they also create barriers to participation, discouraging and excluding trans and intersex people from engaging in sport, and undermining efforts to make community sport safe, welcoming, and accessible to all.
Sport is strongest when it is inclusive. The IOC’s own 2021 framework recognised that eligibility policies should be evidence-based, sport-specific, and grounded in respect for human rights. This new direction moves away from those principles and risks harming not only transgender and intersex athletes, but the wider landscape of women’s sport. We recently came together with many other organisations to draw attention to this decision and its impact.
LEAP Sports stands in solidarity with all athletes affected by this decision and calls for IOC to reconsider its position with policies that uphold fairness and inclusion without compromising the dignity, safety, and rights of women in all their diversity.
Have questions? See this FAQs document from Sone Erikainen, Katrina Karkazis, Michele Krech and Payoshni Mitra which offers a considered, research and expert-informed analysis of key elements of the new IOC policy, including its scientific, legal, ethical, safeguarding, and equity dimensions.
