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Sporting bodies unveil policies for trans and gender diverse people
From ABC News
by Monique Schafter and James Carmody
Read the full article here
Eight peak Australian sporting bodies have unveiled guidelines for the inclusion for transgender people in their sports.Quote:Today, AFL, Hockey Australia, Netball Australia, Rugby Australia, Tennis Australia, Touch Football Australia, UniSport Australia and Water Polo Australia have committed to landmark transgender inclusion measures.This follows on from Cricket Australia, which launched its transgender inclusion guidelines last year.
Another 13 peak sporting bodies also confirmed a commitment to developing trans and gender diverse inclusive frameworks.
“Sport is a fundamental right for all Australians,” said Beau Newell, national program manager of LGBTQ inclusion organisation Pride in Sport.
“What these organisations are doing today are showing not only Australia, but they’re showing the world, that trans people have a place to feel welcome in sport in Australia.”
The policies mainly focus on community sport and are based on guidance from Sport Australia and the Australian Human Rights commission designed to stamp out discrimination.
They say they that everyone should have the opportunity to participate in sport, regardless of their sex or gender identity.
At a base level the policies ensure freedom to wear uniforms which match the gender a person identifies with and greater access to changerooms and bathroom facilities.
At a more technical level some sports have outlined the levels of testosterone which can be allowed in women’s competitions, while other sports have indicated players will be able to choose which gender competition they compete in.
“Each sport has gone through their respective consultation process, and all of them are coming out the other end with a very unique guideline or policy that’s reflective of their specific sport,” Mr Newell said.
According to the Sport Australia guidelines, if it is believed that a transgender athlete over the age of 12 has an unfair advantage in a sport where strength, stamina or physique is relevant, sports clubs can seek inclusion exemptions through a rigorous case-by-case process.
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5 Replies
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ACON I think has helped in this , they made quite a big post of celebration on their Facebook page.
On the other hand Claire Chandler a Liberal senator from Tasmania is against the idea and against use of toilets and change facilities by those she just calls “males” wanting to use female facilities.
She was being interviewed by Ben Fordham on 2GB this morning ( not my usual listening station but you have to listen to what they say now and again to their conservative audience!
Anyway I phoned in to put forward
my views but was put on hold for way too long had to hang up but wrote in later on their feedback page about what I thought.No response yet !! Not surprised.
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Caroline wrote:On the other hand Claire Chandler a Liberal senator from Tasmania is against the idea and against use of toilets and change facilities by those she just calls “males” wanting to use female facilities.
She was being interviewed by Ben Fordham on 2GB this morningI somehow don’t think 2GB is going to see things our way in a million years…
Ben Fordham has slammed the backlash surrounding a controversial opinion expressed by a Liberal Senator.
Tasmanian Liberal Senator Claire Chandler has been referred to the Anti-Discrimination Commission after she wrote: “You don’t have to be a bigot to recognise the differences between the male and female sexes and understand why women’s sports, single-sex change rooms and toilets are important.”Ms Chandler told Ben Fordham they are “commonsense views shared by the majority”.
She was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement upon her conciliation session with the commissioner.“I certainly don’t want to be silenced on these issues,” she said.Ben Fordham said.
Quote:“What a joke! We’re supposed to live in a country that welcomes free speech and encourages a difference of opinion, not one that stomps all over you just because you say that female toilets are meant for females! -
And Ben Fordham had an interview with the PM today as well..
in part he asked…
Quote:Fordham: The Liberal Senator Claire Chandler is being dragged before the Anti-Discrimination Commission in Tasmania because she said women’s toilets are designed for people of the female sex and should remain that way. Is there anything wrong with what she said?Prime Minister: No, that’s commonsense. And I would urge a more commonsense approach on how some of these agencies operate. I mean, the Tasmanian one has had form on other issues in the past. I think people just expect commonsense in these areas.
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I made a point to challenge his use of the term “dragged ” it is highly emotive and designed to arouse inciteful responses.
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I may as well have my 5c worth here as I have insight in a few areas related to this subject:
As a proud Tasmanian, I can assure all that the good Senator’s views are not shared universally in the Apple Isle. Like everywhere else in our wide brown land, acceptance is rife and I have never had any issues accessing facilities in any commercial premises (usually a drinking establishment of course) in southern Tasmania. As for northern Tasmania, that region renowned for Senator Jacquie Lambie (she who seeks ‘a good package’) and the HIV infected monkeys in their cage in the centre of York Park in Launceston (known colloquially as “Incest-ton) I cannot say but given the wacky antics of the inhabitants I’m guessing all is well on the toilet front there as well.
From the sporting front, there has been a program rolled out across Australia for a number of years now to upgrade sports changerooms to provide single occupancy showers and individual toilets – in fact there is a Code of Practice AND an Australian Standard for this..and not solely for women and the trans community that has just been an added bonus. For the entirety of my playing career in Australian Rules football, which encompassed the SANFL, suburban, and country football, showers were “all in ones” with perhaps 4 x shower heads and first in best dressed. At many grounds, you may also have shared shower facilities with the opposition team after the game. The upgrading to individual showers is a good thing, not only from a privacy point of view but also from a hygiene perspective as the old style used to be noted breeding grounds for delightful consequences such as tinea. Two things to note: 1. Because of the ‘old style’ of things, there has been a big movement in the last 20 years from players to not shower in the changerooms after games but rather to head home for a shower and avoid the tinea. 2. Not only does single occupancy provide privacy and cleanliness but it has the added bonus of being absolutely ideal for the vast amount of women who now play the various codes around the country and who often share these changerooms with the men. Women generally have not had that culture of sharing showers as people my age did.
It is ok, for dear Claire, to have a different opinion as it is for anyone. Programs like Hadley’s are also hardly the bastion of Left Wing progressive thinking it must be noted but in sporting terms out there in Club-Land, creating policies around these things is somewhat superfluous as the clubs themselves are way ahead of any thinking the governing bodies may have on these subjects. Transgendered sisters already play, with great acceptance, in every code you can think of and generally do not dominate proceedings via any physical advantages they may have such as height. They can change, as can their team mates, in complete privacy if they wish and complete their ablutions post game without fear of being overseen if that is a concern for anyone. That is already happening and has done so for some time.
Without diversifying their programs to include womens teams, including transgendered folk, many clubs would have died an agonising death years ago. Clubs with histories extending over a century openly admit that diversity has saved them – and in a few instances I’m sure they would sacrifice their Mens programs to save the Womens it is that critical to them.
These squawks from people who do not really know what is going on in sport only go to underline their ignorance – and once howled down they retreat to come up with some other lunacy another day (see “Barnaby Joyce”) . The revolution started many years ago and sports, on an individual club basis, welcome all in to their midst with open arms.
