College athlete, Olympian call on UN to support fairness in girls sports: ‘Stand up for human rights of women’

Female athletes called on the United Nations to take action and support fairness in women’s sports ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics next month. At the Geneva Human Rights Council last week, they asked the organization to prevent biological men who identify as women from competing in women’s sports. 

As part of a panel co-hosted by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International and the Permanent Mission of the Gambia, British Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and college athlete Chelsea Mitchell joined UN Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem at the United Nations, asking countries to take action and protect women’s sports.

Before Connecticut began allowing transgender females to compete in her league, Mitchell alleged that she was the fastest runner in the state, but has since missed out on trophies and opportunities that she would have otherwise been awarded.

“It tells me that I’m not good enough, that my body isn’t good enough, and that no matter how hard I work, I am unlikely to succeed, because I’m a woman,” she said. “Girls everywhere need to know their value, which is why I have come to the United Nations to stand up for the human rights of women and girls in sports across the world.”

Mitchell is suing the Connecticut Interscholastric Athletic Conference with the help of ADF for allowing transgender girls to compete and win in female sports. Mitchell told Fox News Digital that she has lost four women’s state championship titles, two all-New England awards and numerous other spots on the podium to transgender female athletes. 

“I was bumped to third place in the 55-meter dash in 2019, behind two male runners. With every loss, it gets harder and harder to try again,” she said. “That’s a devastating experience.” 

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Mitchell’s case is one of five ADF has brought in the U.S. challenging transgender inclusion policies in women’s sports. The Biden administration’s recently finalized updates to Title IX will erase advancements biological women have achieved in modern society through its broad interpretation of “sex” to include “gender identity,” experts previously told Fox News Digital.

The changes to Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, which was originally a 37-word provision barring schools that receive federal funding from discriminating against students on the basis of sex to ensure equal opportunity for women in the educational setting, will turn the original intent of the rule on its head, according to many experts. 

The Title IX update will be implemented nationwide in August if it can overcome legal challenges.

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Alsalem, who serves as the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, warned against altering the definition of women in Title IX in December 2023, saying it would result in “unfair treatment and unlawful and extreme forms of discrimination against most women and girls on the basis of female sex” and “undermine the access of women and girls in sports to equal opportunity as well as undermine their overall participation in society and public life.”  

She also argued that the forced erasure of female-only facilities could result in a “loss of privacy, an increased risk of physical injury, heightened exposure to sexual harassment and voyeurism, as well as a more frequent and accumulated psychological distress due to the loss of privacy and fair and equal sporting and academic opportunities.” 

Sharron Davies (Alliance Defending Freedom International)

Davies detailed her experience of losing out on winning gold in the 1980s Olympics against an East German competitor who had been given testosterone as a teenager to improve her performance. 

The female competitors who lost out on medals because of this were never recognized for their achievements, according to ADF International. Many of the female winners who had been injected with testosterone in the 1980s went on to suffer long-term health problems, which also impacted the next generation with birth defects. 

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Davis told Fox News Digital that having lived through a similar circumstance when she was competing in the 1980s means she empathizes with what the athletes of today’s face and the importance of fairness for female athletes. 

“We know that the physical attributes caused by testosterone give males an unfair and irreversible advantage — yet time and time again, they are given a ticket to compete in female-only events, causing worthy female competitors to lose out,” Davis told Fox News Digital. “This is the sporting crime of the 21st century.”

“What is happening to women and girl athletes is a far-reaching human rights abuse with egregious implications for not only fairness and safety, but also for their opportunities to succeed in sports, scholarship opportunities, and beyond,” she added. “As this issue comes to a head, it is imperative that the international community do all it can to defend the basic human rights of women and girls in sports.”

UN Council Meeting (Alliance Defending Freedom International)

Mitchell said during her testimony that losing a state championship is hard, but added that losing because the race isn’t fair is “gut-wrenching.”

“I worked hard to be in the running to win a state championship, and four times, I watched as that title went to a male athlete,” she testified. “It was heartbreaking. But what was even more frustrating was knowing that two males were being named state champion, while us girls were being pushed to the background in our sport.

“Over their high school careers, the male athletes collectively won 15 women’s state championship titles — titles that were held by nine different girls in 2016,” she added. “They set 17 new individual meet records and eliminated girls from advancement opportunities more than 85 times.”

Chelsea Mitchell and Sharron Davies (Alliance Defending Freedom International)

Giorgio Mazzoli, the director of UN advocacy for ADF International and panel moderator, said sports federations, national governments and the United Nations can no longer ignore the voices of women and girls whose achievements have been directly affected by male participation in female sports categories. 

“Female athletes have equal rights to fairness, safety, and privacy, both on and off the playing field. Authorities must follow the science and steadfastly uphold the integrity and fairness of female sport,” he said. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to the United Nations for comment.