Tag Archives: hyperandrogenism

La vicenda di Caster Semenya, Capitolo #2: la IAAF e il tentativo del 2011 di porre un limite ai livelli di testosterone nella categoria femminile

La vicenda di Caster Semenya è una vicenda estremamente complessa che va avanti da Berlino agosto 2009 quando la sua medaglia d’oro negli 800 metri viene revocata e inizia un’indagine della IAAF sul suo genere.

La medaglia le viene riconsegnata dopo 11 mesi, ma nell’aprile del 2011, la IAAF introduce le Regole sull’iperandrogenismo. Queste regole affermano che livelli di testosterone endogeno superiori a 10 nMOl/Lit in atlete forniscono un vantaggio iniquo .

Quindi, alle atlete che hanno livelli di testosterone maggiore di 10 nMOL/lit , compresa Caster Semenya (e che non hanno resistenza agli androgeni) viene richiesto di assumere una terapia farmacologica mirata a sopprimere gli androgeni almeno due anni consecutivi, prima di poter essere considerate idonee a rientrare in competizione nella categoria femminile.

Queste regole, dopo essere state sospese nel 2015, furono poi reintrodotte nel 2018 in una versione modificata (ne parleremo in altro post), e sono ancora in vigore. L’onere della prova di dimostrare di non ricevere un vantaggio da livelli elevati di testosterone ricade sull’atleta che, senza un supporto finanziario forte, non può fare appello al Tribunale di Arbitraggio per lo Sport (TAS) con sede a Losanna, che dirime le questioni di diritto sportivo internazionale.

Caster Semenya, priva del supporto economico necessario per appellarsi al TAS, assume farmaci e rientra a competere. È nel 2014 che un’altra atleta, la velocista indiana Dutee Chand, farà appello al Tribunale per Arbitraggio dello Sport.

Stay tuned: ne parleremo nel prossimo post.

#castersemenya #duteechand #testosterone #iperandrogenismo #hyperandrogenism #humanrights #ECHR #IAAF #World Athletics #SebCoe #fairness #ethics #sport

IMPORTANT!

Here you can download the original IAAF documents on Hyperandrogenism Regulations (they have been taken off website since suspension of regulation in July 2015 following CAS ruling)

IAAF guidelines Eligibility Hyperandrogenism May 2011

IAAF Hyperandrogenism Regulations – Appendices

New paper out for Journal of Medical Ethics: “When does an advantage become unfair? Empirical and normative concerns in Semenya’s case”

I published a new paper for the Journal of Medical Ethics titled “When does an advantage become unfair? Empirical and normative concerns in Semenya’s case”.

jmeHere’s the abstract:

There is a fundamental tension in many sports: human sex is not binary, but there are only two categories in which people can compete: male and female. Over the past 10 years, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) regulations have been at the centre of two notable legal disputes. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reached two contradictory rulings: in the first case (Dutee Chand vs Athletics Federation India and IAAF), the IAAF regulations for the eligibility of athletes to compete in the female category were suspended (24 July 2015) on grounds of “discrimination against the female category”; in the latter (Caster Semenya and Athletics South Africa vs IAAF), the regulations were reaffirmed (1 May 2019) on grounds that although discriminatory, they are necessary to maintain a “level playing field” and to “protect” the female category. Although Semenya’s case has paved the way for questioning existing gender norms in sport, a new stable norm has yet to emerge from her case. The pharmacological solution put forward by IAAF to the tension between fairness and inclusivity of bodies non-conforming to two sexes is not, however, the only possible solution/resolution to the case, as I aim to show in this paper. Here I present some reflections on this topic and suggest how CAS should approach the case if it hopes to resolve it.

The full text can be accessed here:

https://jme.bmj.com/content/early/2019/09/15/medethics-2019-105532.full

Drop me a line if you don’t have access and would like to get a copy of the paper.

World Athletics’ Regulations on eligibility to compete in the female category (2009- now)

casterAn almost complete (I hope!) list of my academic works on the topic of hyperandrogenism, and eligibility criteria for participation in the female category from 2009 up to now can be found here (email me to request PDFs of articles if you don’t have access):

Op-eds can be found here:

And you can find some of my early academic work on Caster Semenya here:

IMPORTANT!

Here you can download the original IAAF documents on Hyperandrogenism Regulations (they have been taken off website since suspension of regulation in July 2015 following CAS ruling)

IAAF guidelines Eligibility Hyperandrogenism May 2011

IAAF Hyperandrogenism Regulations – Appendices

MEDIA AND OUTREACH

Radio and Television Commentary and Expert Opinion

Al Jazeera Inside Story (May 2019, Television)

Commentary on CAS ruling against Caster Semenya:

https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2019/05/athletics-rules-unfairly-target-caster-semenya-190502192112795.html

BBC Radio 5 (May 2019, Radio)

Commentary on CAS ruling against Caster Semenya:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0769g7f

 BBC Radio London (May 2019)

Commentary on CAS ruling against Caster Semenya:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0769g7f?fbclid=IwAR1BVHBoJc9R5TxHMJAZHkXNjLx5caiZYOw3StVnNhck81XJ6tqMuIQ2ajg

 BBC Inside Science (April 2019, Radio)

Commentary on experiments carried out at Yale University to reanimate pig heads:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00046sj

BBC Big Questions (June 2017, Television)

Panelist for episode “Is it ethical to interfere with the genome?”:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08vg018/the-big-questions-series-10-episode-20

 BBC News Hour Extra (July 2016, Radio)

Commentary for: “A flickering flame: Is the Olympic ideal dead?”:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04263n3

BBC World Service (March 2015, Radio)

Commentary on Dutee Chand’s case:

https://soundcloud.com/bbc-world-service/what-makes-a-woman  

BBC Have Your Say (March 2015, Radio)

Commentary on Dutee Chand’s case:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02m31rq

 

BBC Radio 4 News (March 2015, Radio)

Commentary on Dutee Chand’s case:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05mrc53

BBC World News (February 2015, Television)

Commentary on the case of eugenics victims receiving compensation for sterilization in Virginia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kDev7pyloM

My work on Caster Semenya has been quoted in mainstream media and other professional outlets:

IMPORTANT!

Here you can download the original IAAF documents on Hyperandrogenism Regulations (they have been taken off website since suspension of regulation in July 2015 following CAS ruling)

IAAF guidelines Eligibility Hyperandrogenism May 2011

IAAF Hyperandrogenism Regulations – Appendices