In a significant move to uphold fairness and safety in women's boxing, World Boxing has announced the implementation of mandatory sex testing for all athletes over 18 competing in its events. The policy, set to take effect from 1 July 2025, requires athletes to undergo PCR genetic testing to confirm their eligibility for the female category.
The decision follows the controversy surrounding Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who won gold in the women's welterweight division at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Khelif's participation in the female category has been under scrutiny since a 2023 chromosome test reportedly indicated XY chromosomes. Despite this, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Khelif to compete in Paris, citing Khelif’s female passport. Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, who won gold in the Paris Olympics’ women’s featherweight division, has been under similar scrutiny.
In its statement announcing the new policy—which refreshingly used the term 'sex' rather than 'gender' and omitted using any female pronouns for Khelif—World Boxing stated that Khelif will not be permitted to compete in the female category in any of its events until Khelif undergoes sex testing. Then, less than two days after World Boxing’s statement, Khelif’s 2023 test results showing XY chromosomes were publicly leaked.
The news that Khelif is indeed a biological male is no surprise to those of us who raised grave concerns about the safety of female athletes forced to compete against Khelif at the Paris Olympics. However, it is a small vindication given how we were attacked and vilified for bigotry and hate speech, simply for defending fairness and safety for women. If verified, the IOC must apologise to and/or compensate the female athletes forced to compete against a biological male, and Khelif must be required to hand back the gold medal.
World Boxing's statement notes that, "Under the new policy, National Federations will be responsible for testing and will be required to confirm the sex of their athletes when entering them into World Boxing competitions by providing a certification of their chromosomal sex, as determined by a PCR test." Women’s Forum Australia has reached out to Boxing Australia’s CEO Dinah Glykidis to confirm that Boxing Australia will also be implementing sex testing for athletes wanting to compete in Australian boxing competitions, not just when entering them into World Boxing competitions. While we have yet to receive a response, Boxing Australia’s official affiliation with World Boxing, and the fact that Ms Glykidis is also World Boxing’s Vice President, suggest that Boxing Australia’s policy will align with that of World Boxing on this issue.
The broader issue at hand is the protection of the female sporting category across the board to ensure fairness and safety for female athletes. The inclusion of males in female sports undermines the very reason single-sex sport exists in the first place - to ensure a safe and fair playing field for women and girls.
Women's Forum Australia urges all sporting bodies to adopt clear and consistent policies that prioritise fairness and safety in women's sports. However, Australian women and girls should not have to wait for every sport to fall into line before they are guaranteed single-sex sport.
The Australian government must take decisive action to implement blanket protections for female single-sex sport, whether by amending the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 to reinstate the definitions of man and woman as suggested in Senator Claire Chandler’s Save Women’s Sport Bill, or by some other legislative means. Fairness and safety for women and girls must come first.
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Women’s Forum Australia is an independent think tank that undertakes research, education and public policy advocacy on issues affecting women and girls, with a particular focus on addressing behaviours and practices that are harmful and abusive to them. We are a non-partisan, non-religious, tax-deductible charity. We do not receive any government funding and rely solely on donations to make an impact. Support our work today.
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