Women's sports ‘must ban trans players or face legal action'
Sharron Davies, the former Olympic swimmer, will say on Tuesday that British sporting groups such as tennis and weightlifting could end up in court if they do not prevent transgender women from competing.
She will speak at a meeting of the new all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on women's rights, established by Rosie Duffield, the former Labour MP.
The meeting comes three months after the Supreme Court ruled that the word sex in the Equality Act is defined by biological sex, not self-declared gender identity.
A number of sporting bodies, such as the Football Association, changed their rules to state that trans players could not play in women's sports.
But many others did not, leaving them open to the threat of legal action.
The group Women's Rights UK, which acts as the secretariat to the APPG, said while 21 UK sporting bodies restrict women's sport to biological sex, 38 do not.
Another 18 have no policy or are currently under review.
The Lawn Tennis Association, the UK's governing body for tennis, protects elite women but not lower-level players.
England Golf not only allows trans women, who are biologically male, to compete against women in the amateur game, it also allows them to use the women's changing rooms.
Ms Davies, who won two gold medals in the 1978 Commonwealth Games and a silver medal in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, said: 'Even after the very clear Supreme Court ruling on what a woman is and the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act, sports are still choosing men's feelings over women's reality and our rightful opportunities to fair sport, free from any and all males.
'It's simply wrong. It's time for women to firmly say no. And if we have to, we will resort to more litigation.
'Bringing women together at this event is ever-more-needed as women continue to be treated like second-class citizens in our own races and spaces.'
Ms Duffield, who is now the independent MP for Canterbury, said: 'I set up the APPG on women's rights following the Supreme Court ruling because so many issues arose from that and it's clear that so many public bodies and institutions have been misinterpreting the Equality Act, and there are many ongoing discussions to be had.
'We need to have discussions with sporting bodies, public buildings providing bathrooms, clubs and organisations. It's important that the law is followed correctly and we will be keeping an eye on how that unfolds.'
The Lawn Tennis Association said last year that trans women would not be eligible to compete in female events in higher-graded competitions. But the rules do not extend to events taking place between players from the same venue.
British Weight Lifting allows trans women to compete in female categories as long as they can demonstrate that their testosterone levels are within the range of biological women.
Other examples of sports which do not ban trans women are rounders, taekwondo and wrestling.
Heather Binning, founder of the Women's Rights Network said: 'Tomorrow's meeting will focus on protecting and promoting women's sports and the failure by too many sporting bodies to protect single-sex sport and encourage greater participation by women and girls.
'In the absence of leadership to address the erosion of women and girls sports, the APPG will be an opportunity for parliamentarians to discuss how we can address this and promote safe and fair sporting opportunities for women and girls at both elite and grass-roots levels.'
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