OII global chair, Hida Viloria, and former Olympic athlete Maria Jose Martínez-Patino write in The American Journal of Bioethics on proposed policies by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) and the IOC relating to hyperandrogenism in women athletes (but notably not male athletes). Read full article Reexamining Rationales of Fairness An Athlete and Insider s Perspective on the New Policies on Hyperandrogenism in Elite Female Athletes, or see text below excerpt below.

The authors conclude:

It is evident that the new policies do not ensure or address fairness for all. Rather, they were devised to ease social discomfort and appease prejudicial complaints against the women they target. The fact that the IAAF and IOC prioritized these complaints over human rights was enabled by the fact that legal experts in Lausanne confirmed that women with hyperandrogenism lack legal protections.

Legalities notwithstanding, it is unethical to allow prejudice to inform policymaking. Prior policies produced irrevocable psychological harm, and efforts to determine who is “female enough” are discriminatory and scientifically unsound. In addition, there is no evidence that the treatments athletes who are deemed ineligible will be required to undergo in order to compete will not be harmful to their health.

Reexamining Rationales of Fairness An Athlete and Insider s Perspective on the New Policies on Hyperandrogenism in Elite Female Athletes