Protecting and Promoting Women’s Sports

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Women’s Rights of 15 June 2025 heard from Sharron Davies MBE, Cathy Devine and Jane Sullivan on Protecting and Promoting Women’s Sports.

Sharron Davies testified to her own experience as an Olympic Silver Medal winning swimmer.  She was regularly up against East German swimmers who had taken testosterone to enhance their performance.  Taking testosterone harms the health of women and girls.  Male athletes always have a physical advantage over female one – 10-30% (this varies according to the sport).  Protecting elite women and girl athletes is not enough – the protection must be there at the grassroots.  Female sport is less well-funded than male sport – only 5% of sponsorship money goes to them.

Dr Cathy Devine is a former lecturer and now researches sport policy.   She is a Labour Party member.  Her research has recently exposed the impact on including trans-identified males in women’s and girls’ elite and grassroots sport.  Currently far fewer girls and women take part in sport, which makes the impact of including trans-identified males all the greater.  As many as 10.5% of participants in supposedly all-female football teams may be trans-identified males.  Sport is important for all – it has a huge impact on health and wellbeing – and this justifies public funding via the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – and funding for women’s and girls’ sport should follow the Supreme Court Ruling on the For Women Scotland case.

Cathy Devine attests that the For Women Scotland ruling means that competitive female single-sex sport may legitimately exclude all males, including those with a GRC (Gender Recognition Certificate), and that mixed sex competitions like Parkrun may discriminate indirectly against females.  The Equality Act of 2010 means that single-sex changing rooms may lawfully exclude members of the opposite sex.  Research by Women’s Rights Network found that of 133 ‘women only’ swim sessions in England and Wales, a mere 25 have single sex changing facilities.

To read more of Cathy’s research, please click here.

Jane Sullivan is a Rowing Coach and a member of Women’s Rights Network Sports Group.  She explained that the WRN’s Red Flag Campaign has found that a third of all changing facilities for swimming is now in the form of ‘changing villages’ or mixed sex.  This enables sexual misconduct – an FOI investigation for 2018 uncovered 218 complaints in sports centres and swimming pools.  120 of these (nearly 90%) occurred in mixed sex facilities. Offences include sexual assault and rape, but voyeurism is an increasing problem with mobile phones being used to photograph and record women and girls.  The WRN campaign has taken to the streets and social media, and members and groups have been in touch with local councils about leisure facilities and sports centres.  New facilities should not include ‘village style’ changing facilities.

Discussion focused on the importance of facilitating female access to sporting facilities without compromising their safety or privacy. In addition to MPs and peer members of the APPG, there were contributions from Fiona McAnena of Sex Matters and Susu Stinton of SEEN in Sport. It was asked whether the Department of Culture, Media and Sport should have a policy on single sex sports, or if this should be left up to national sporting bodies.  At the moment, many sporting organization are awaiting EHRC guidance before they issue new rules.  Currently some are facing legal challenge, including Hampstead Ponds, which is expensive and wasteful.

Rosie Duffield MP, in the Chair thanked the speakers for their contributions, and WRN for their secretarial input.