To be clear, we publish this speech here on the basis that it is honestly held opinion and so meets national guidelines for broadcasters and electronic media. – Ed.
Kath Deves at IWD ’21 in Brisbane
Speaking on behalf of Nerissa Scott, and we are both representatives of Save Women’s sports Australasia. We’re a non-partisan grassroots group, which is part of an international coalition of women’s organizations, athletes and supporters of women in sport who assert that male athletes should not compete in female sport. We believe that well, everyone has the right to play sport. No one has the right to play in any category that they choose.
Sport is meaningless without fair competition, which is why we have separate categories for disabled people, for children, for men, and for women. However, I desire to be inclusive is having unintended negative consequences for women and girls who are losing their and meaningful competition at all levels of females for a woman is an adult human female, not an identity, not a label, not a costume and not an idea in a man’s head.
It’s really wonderful and encouraging to see so many (sic) women and men here today to support women and our sex based rights, which are currently under attack and being eroded and dismantled due to the ideological capture of institutions, academia, and as well as our government.
We are seeing this in legislation here in Australia and across the western world, with gender identity, being at direct odds with women sex based rights being enshrined and protected in law, say women’s sports Australasia was formed by a group of volunteers in order to defend and protect women’s rights to fairness and safety in sports.
As it stands Australia’s leading sports governing body, sport Australia is in cahoots with pride in sport, a lobby group, which receives millions of dollars in funding, and they have made it abundantly clear that the inclusivity of males who have who identify as women is more important than the safety and fairness for girls and women in sport. What an absolute travesty, a despicable display of misogyny to determine with very little consultation.
Let’s be honest, zero consultation is feminist and women’s group set the close female sports category, which is rightly and lawfully reserved for biological women and girls, should instead be an open category permitting entry to minors.
Despite plenty of evidence that males retain a biological advantage, even with testosterone suppression, Australia’s peak voting body has elected to ignore the risks to females, and instead has adopted a dangerous and downright insulting inclusivity policy, which prioritize the feelings of apparently of an apparently small minority at the expense of women and girls, who make up over 50% of the population. Yet what Australia has the audacity to say on their website that we recognize that people cannot enjoy themselves or perform at their best if they are treated unfairly?
For your information at community level, Aussie rules football for instance, under the new gender diversity in guidelines, a male can simply declare a trans or non binary identity, undertake no testosterone testing or suppression, and in doing so, gain access to the women’s team, their change rooms and bathrooms facilities along with it … too bad for any woman or girl who object, their feelings.
Our feelings are not important.
Don’t be transphobic stop being a bigot, the AFL states in a gender diversity policy, that it is their view that in community football considerations of social inclusion have greater priority than concerns that may exist with respect to competitive advantage in relation to the participation of gender diverse players.
That is a direct quote. In community football considerations of social inclusion have greater priority than concerns that may exist with respect to competitive advantage in relation to the participation of gender diverse players. So basically, screw women and girls rightfully have an issue with the blatant unfairness of having to compete with males. Your concerns are not considered valid, your rights are being denied.
Anyone saying that women and girls should simply boycott these matches need to understand that the rights of these
Females to have prior knowledge of the risk to their safety and privacy of having a male presence in their women’s comm competition are also being denied.
Transcribed by Ian Curr