New report sparks change for trans athletes in Canada

he culture of sport in our country is making a shift to create a more positive atmosphere for trans athletes in Canada.

The Canadian Centre for Ethics i n Sport ( cces) released a report titled “Creating Inclusive Environments for Trans Participants in Canadian Sport.” It’s a guide for athletic organizations across the country that are responsible for sports at all levels from beginners to elites.

This report has come after the cces received numerous queries from teams and organizations across Canada asking how to be better informed on practices regarding trans athletes.

This is not the first time that issues surrounding gender have come up in the running scene in particular.

cces gives recommendations on how to make the sport more inclusive for all athletes regardless of their gender. To do that, cces had to gather to fully understand current research, practices and issues that exist surrounding the topic. What kind of issues are going on? “Unfortunately, there have been instances in which sport’s strict adherence to binary gender categories has been the source of significant pain and, indeed some would argue, discrimination against trans athletes. Some Canadian trans athletes have been subjected to humiliating and traumatic forms of gender testing, discrimination and other structural barriers,” reads the cces report.

“The Government of Canada supports all efforts to better understand the perspective of trans athletes, so that all Canadians can experience the benefits of sport in a safe and inclusive environment,” said Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities. “Sport is for all, without exception.”

The problem that is being challenged right now is that sports are divided into two major categories: male and female. But having two categories based on gender is something that many feel does not give a space for everyone – trans people in particular are being slighted by this system. And according to the report, this is a group that consists of about 175,000 people in Canada.– SM

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