Government of Jersey policy on transgender athletes (FOI)

Request 

Following the decisions of numerous International and British sporting bodies to update their policies on transgender athletes to ensure female sporting categories are exclusively sex-based, and the incontrovertible evidence of the biological advantage male athletes have over female athletes, please advise of the following:-

A

What is the Government of Jersey's policy on transgender athletes in sport at each level of sport (grassroots to professional)?  

B

Are there any plans to review this policy in light of recent events as above?  

C

If the Government of Jersey allows transgender women (males) to compete against women in any sport, what are the safeguarding measures that are put in place to protect women against injury?  

D

How does Government of Jersey’s policy on inclusion ensure that girls and women are not self-excluding themselves from sport, due either to lack of fairness in sport, fear of injury, or fear of having to share changing spaces with biological males? 

Response 

A

The Government of Jersey does not have a policy on transgender athletes as this is determined individually by the National Governing Bodies of each individual sport.  Sports policies on transgender athletes are available on the websites of the respective National Governing Bodies.  Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.

B and C

Please see response to question A above.

D

There is a policy on transgender users of sports facilities (please see attached document) which ensures that the Government of Jersey complies with its obligations under the Discrimination (Jersey) Law 2013. This is being updated to hopefully include an appendix indicating where single cubicles are available in sport centres. A timescale for this update is not available at this time. 

Policy Document_Redacted.pdf

Please see the link below for the Government of Jersey Transgender Guidance for Government of Jersey Schools which includes inclusion information.  

Transgender Guidance for Jersey Schools.pdf (gov.je)

It should be noted that this policy is the current position, however, as the policy is being reviewed, this advice may change.  

Article applied 

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.