Trans women to be banned from female sports in Spain

Spain’s ruling Socialist party plans to prohibit trans women from participating in women’s sports and to eliminate the Q+ from the LGBTQ+ acronym.

Led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the Socialists included a policy to restrict female sports participation to “people with a female biological sex” in a document finalised at the party’s congress over the weekend.

As ‘Yahoo! News’ report, the decision to also remove Q+ from a plan aimed at protecting sexual and gender minorities from social inequality led to significant backlash from LGBTQ+ activists and politicians from left-wing allies in Sánchez’s minority government. However, it received backing from some feminist groups.

These changes were proposed by a feminist faction within the Socialist party opposing an ultra-liberal stance on trans rights under Sánchez’s leadership.

The 2023 approval of trans rights reforms, which allowed individuals to officially change their sex by declaring their wish, created deep divisions within Spain’s ruling left-wing factions.

At that time, former Socialist Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo stated the reform would “destroy the powerful battery of equality legislation in our country.” Traditional feminism advocates have highlighted misuse of the law, such as newly registered trans women trying to avoid penalties for violence against female partners.

Spain’s trans law allows children as young as 12 to change the gender on their official documents, though those under 16 require parental or judicial consent.

Some party feminists worry the reform could undermine women’s equality achievements.

A spokesperson for Ana Redondo, the equality minister, described the decisions as “a party matter,” indicating they are not mandatory.

Nonetheless, the government faces accusations of “transphobia” from gender and sexual diversity advocates.

Sumar, the junior coalition party, stated that the Socialist party was adopting “far-Right ideas” and emphasised that “no one should be left behind” in rights protection.

Irene Montero, the former equality minister from the hard-left Podemos party who advanced the transgender reform, criticised the actions as transphobic, affirming that “transgender women are women, whether they have a penis or a vagina.”

She pointed out that Human Rights Watch condemned sex testing by federations as “degrading practices” rooted in “arbitrary definitions of femininity and racial stereotypes.”

Montero warned that “transphobia in sport generates transphobic violence” in broader society.

Feminist group Contra el Borrado de Mujeres (Against the Erasure of Women) supported the Socialist congress's decision and emphasised the need for legislative action, stating that “The Sports Act and the 14 regional laws that allow men who identify as women to participate in women’s sports must be revised.”

Ms. Redondo, who succeeded Montero after the 2023 general election, has sought to mediate between feminists on the transgender debate.

Earlier in 2024, she mentioned backing two International Women’s Day marches in Madrid, one opposing the trans law and the other supporting it.