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Hormonal eligibility criteria in women’s professional sports under the ECHR : the case of Caster Semenya v. Switzerland

Pieter Cannoot (UGent) , Cathérine Van de Graaf (UGent) , Ariël Decoster (UGent) , Claire Poppelwell-Scevak (UGent) and Sarah Schoentjes (UGent)
(2024) Sports and human rights : WSHR 2022. In Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Rights 10. p.95-123
Author
Organization
Abstract
Although society is (slowly) evolving, rigid gender stereotypes still persist in the world of professional sports. In line with the creation of a strict binary division of athletes, sex-testing policies based on stereotypical considerations of womanhood have come to target ‘overly masculine’ women athletes with variations of sex characteristics (VSC), as elevated levels of testosterone are believed to constitute a competitive advantage. Some international sports federations, such as World Athletics, have adopted hormonal eligibility criteria (HEC) for women’s sports competitions, although the underlying scientific evidence has been strongly contested. Athletes are excluded if they do not comply with these requirements. The standard way of reducing testosterone levels is via the use of hormonal contraceptives, although irreversible surgical treatment also occurs. HEC for sports competitions raises important issues in respect of the fundamental rights of professional women athletes with VSC, and have been challenged before the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). In this chapter, we analyze the HEC set by World Athletics in light of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which is the relevant framework for addressing human rights concerns since Switzerland accepts jurisdiction for appeals against CAS decisions. We discuss the relevant societal background, argue how HEC for sports competitions violates the individual’s right to bodily and mental integrity as protected by Article 3 ECHR, and explain that the scope of the state’s positive obligations under Article 8 ECHR needs to be interpreted as encompassing a duty to ensure the effective protection of an athlete’s bodily and psychological integrity. Finally, we set out why HEC directed at women athletes with VSC amounts to intersectional discrimination in breach of Article 14 ECHR in conjunction with Articles 3 and 8 ECHR.

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MLA
Cannoot, Pieter, et al. “Hormonal Eligibility Criteria in Women’s Professional Sports under the ECHR : The Case of Caster Semenya v. Switzerland.” Sports and Human Rights : WSHR 2022, edited by Véronique Boillet et al., vol. 10, Springer, 2024, pp. 95–123, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-56452-9_5.
APA
Cannoot, P., Van de Graaf, C., Decoster, A., Poppelwell-Scevak, C., & Schoentjes, S. (2024). Hormonal eligibility criteria in women’s professional sports under the ECHR : the case of Caster Semenya v. Switzerland. In V. Boillet, A. Ziegler, & S. Weerts (Eds.), Sports and human rights : WSHR 2022 (Vol. 10, pp. 95–123). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56452-9_5
Chicago author-date
Cannoot, Pieter, Cathérine Van de Graaf, Ariël Decoster, Claire Poppelwell-Scevak, and Sarah Schoentjes. 2024. “Hormonal Eligibility Criteria in Women’s Professional Sports under the ECHR : The Case of Caster Semenya v. Switzerland.” In Sports and Human Rights : WSHR 2022, edited by Véronique Boillet, Andreas Ziegler, and Sophie Weerts, 10:95–123. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56452-9_5.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Cannoot, Pieter, Cathérine Van de Graaf, Ariël Decoster, Claire Poppelwell-Scevak, and Sarah Schoentjes. 2024. “Hormonal Eligibility Criteria in Women’s Professional Sports under the ECHR : The Case of Caster Semenya v. Switzerland.” In Sports and Human Rights : WSHR 2022, ed by. Véronique Boillet, Andreas Ziegler, and Sophie Weerts, 10:95–123. Cham: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-56452-9_5.
Vancouver
1.
Cannoot P, Van de Graaf C, Decoster A, Poppelwell-Scevak C, Schoentjes S. Hormonal eligibility criteria in women’s professional sports under the ECHR : the case of Caster Semenya v. Switzerland. In: Boillet V, Ziegler A, Weerts S, editors. Sports and human rights : WSHR 2022. Cham: Springer; 2024. p. 95–123.
IEEE
[1]
P. Cannoot, C. Van de Graaf, A. Decoster, C. Poppelwell-Scevak, and S. Schoentjes, “Hormonal eligibility criteria in women’s professional sports under the ECHR : the case of Caster Semenya v. Switzerland,” in Sports and human rights : WSHR 2022, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2024, vol. 10, pp. 95–123.
@inproceedings{01HZSJZ780ZGKZ4Q2A9RFJC55K,
  abstract     = {{Although society is (slowly) evolving, rigid gender stereotypes still
persist in the world of professional sports. In line with the creation of a strict binary
division of athletes, sex-testing policies based on stereotypical considerations of
womanhood have come to target ‘overly masculine’ women athletes with variations
of sex characteristics (VSC), as elevated levels of testosterone are believed to
constitute a competitive advantage.
Some international sports federations, such as World Athletics, have adopted
hormonal eligibility criteria (HEC) for women’s sports competitions, although the
underlying scientific evidence has been strongly contested. Athletes are excluded if
they do not comply with these requirements. The standard way of reducing testosterone
levels is via the use of hormonal contraceptives, although irreversible surgical
treatment also occurs. HEC for sports competitions raises important issues in respect
of the fundamental rights of professional women athletes with VSC, and have been
challenged before the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
In this chapter, we analyze the HEC set by World Athletics in light of the
European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which is the relevant framework
for addressing human rights concerns since Switzerland accepts jurisdiction for
appeals against CAS decisions. We discuss the relevant societal background, argue
how HEC for sports competitions violates the individual’s right to bodily and mental
integrity as protected by Article 3 ECHR, and explain that the scope of the state’s
positive obligations under Article 8 ECHR needs to be interpreted as encompassing a
duty to ensure the effective protection of an athlete’s bodily and psychological
integrity. Finally, we set out why HEC directed at women athletes with VSC
amounts to intersectional discrimination in breach of Article 14 ECHR in conjunction
with Articles 3 and 8 ECHR.}},
  author       = {{Cannoot, Pieter and Van de Graaf, Cathérine and Decoster, Ariël and Poppelwell-Scevak, Claire and Schoentjes, Sarah}},
  booktitle    = {{Sports and human rights : WSHR 2022}},
  editor       = {{Boillet, Véronique and Ziegler, Andreas and Weerts, Sophie}},
  isbn         = {{9783031564512}},
  issn         = {{2509-2960}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  location     = {{Lausanne, Switzerland}},
  pages        = {{95--123}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  title        = {{Hormonal eligibility criteria in women’s professional sports under the ECHR : the case of Caster Semenya v. Switzerland}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56452-9_5}},
  volume       = {{10}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}
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