Sharron Davies issues legal warning over trans inclusion in women’s sport

Jack Otway
Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:49:11 +0000

Baroness Sharron Davies and Tracy Edwards MBE have issued legal warnings to Parkrun and nine sporting organisations over their continued refusal to exclude biological males from women's categories.

The former Olympic swimmer and renowned sailor have jointly signed correspondence sent by the Women's Sport Union alongside legal advocacy group ADF International.

Recipients of the letters include the Football Association of Wales, Irish Football Association, Swim England, British Gymnastics and the Royal Yachting Association.

The action comes precisely one year after the Supreme Court determined that only those born female qualify as women under the Equality Act 2010.

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Both women have indicated they will pursue litigation if the organisations fail to implement changes protecting female competitors.

The letters caution that governing bodies permitting biological males in female competition are breaching the Equality Act 2010 as interpreted by the Supreme Court, exposing themselves to significant legal liability.

Several major organisations have already moved to protect their women's categories, including the Football Association, Scottish FA, Rugby Football Union and England and Wales Cricket Board.

The correspondence outlines that Section 195 of the Equality Act and draft EHRC guidance mandate sports bodies to exclude males from women's and girls' competition to guarantee safety and fairness.

Additional concerns raised include safeguarding risks around changing facilities, potential discrimination claims from female athletes whose achievements are undermined, and heightened insurance liability from increased injury risk.

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Davies described the ongoing participation of men in women's sport as "a scandal" one year after the For Women Scotland Supreme Court ruling.

"Failing to protect women's sport from males who claim to be female eradicates fairness in competition and presents extreme safeguarding concerns, all in the name of a false ideology," she stated.

The Conservative peer, who joined the House of Lords in December, said she had received "horror stories from parents whose girls have been exposed to inappropriate and harmful situations" due to inadequate protection of female categories and changing facilities.

She criticised organisations that have safeguarded elite competition while permitting males to compete against women at amateur level, calling this "unacceptable" and warning that women may abandon sport entirely without proper protection across all levels.

Edwards, who skippered Maiden as the first all-female crew to circumnavigate the globe, expressed profound disappointment in the RYA despite repeated correspondence with the organisation.

"When I stood outside the Supreme Court on 16 April 2025 as For Women Scotland won their case, I celebrated the return of sanity," she said.

"Little did I know that a year later we would still be fighting for the female category in sport, and that over 30 UK sports governing bodies would be shirking their responsibility to women and girls."

The sailor reflected that despite decades spent encouraging female participation in her sport, discrimination persists in altered form 37 years after her historic voyage.