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FRANCE24
Issued on: 27/03/2026
PRESS REVIEW – Friday, March 27: We look at reactions in the Indian press after parliament approved a controversial law which critics say will curtail the rights of transgender people. The International Olympic Committee makes a landmark ruling to forbid transgender female athletes from participating in female events, beginning with LA's 2028 Olympics. A bandaged Lindsey Vonn graces the cover of Vanity Fair and talks about her Winter Olympics ordeal. Plus: Japan's viral Punch the monkey has found love!
India's parliament has passed a law that will roll back rights for transgender people. The move is sparking a lot of reaction. As Human Rights Watch explains, the bill amends the 2014 law in which the Indian government recognised transgender people as a third gender. Under the controversial legislation passed this week, it will now remove the right to self-identify and limit recognition to those defined by physical or biological traits. There are an estimated 2 million transgender people in India, although the real number is believed to be much higher.
Indian MP Derek O'Brien writes in the Indian Express that the bill will require the mandated reporting of gender-affirming surgery by the medical board and local authorities. He says this will violate the principles of personal liberty and essentially force people to disclose their transgender identity. Authorities say it will better protect them, but O'Brien argues that it will reinforce the conditions that make protecting them necessary.
The Hindu, another Indian paper, reports that the bill now awaits the approval of Droupadi Murmu, the Indian president. Amidst widespread protests, the All Indian feminist alliance penned a letter to her, urging not to sign it. They condemned the "undue and unjustifiable haste" with which the bill was passed.
Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee has moved to ban transgender female athletes from competing in future women's Olympic events. The Guardian reports that Kirsty Coventry, the IOC president, said the landmark decision was taken because it is not fair for biological males to compete in the female category. The IOC's decision will ban transgender women athletes from the female category of events at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and future Games. Athletes who wish to compete in the female category will have to undergo a one-time SRY masculinity gene test. The decision also extends to DSD athletes, those with differences of sexual development such as Caster Semenya, the South African athlete who identifies as female but has some male chromosomes too.
The Guardian, in an analysis piece, calls the decision "seismic". It notes that four and half years ago, the IOC was hailing the participation of Laurel Hubbard, the transgender weightlifter from New Zealand. Now with this decision, it has made one the most astonishing U-turns from a governing body in modern times. The decision also reflects a changed political climate.
Elsewhere, Vanity Fair's new cover features Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, just weeks after her horrific crash in Milan Cortina. She talks about the moments after that crash, the pain, nearly losing her leg to amputation, her long road to recovery and why she hasn't ruled out a comeback.
Finally, a baby macaque at a Japanese zoo who went viral for cuddling a plush toy has reportedly found love. You might remember Punch the monkey – we talked about him here on the press review several weeks ago. He melted hearts with his cuddling of an orangutan plush toy after being rejected by his tribe. The Times of London says Punch's many superfans can rejoice because it appears he has found love with another primate. He's been seen getting cosy with a female macaque at the monkey mountain enclosure. In an Oedipal twist, it appears that his new lady looks a lot like his mother!
BY: Dheepthika LAURENT
Paris (AFP) – France on Friday called the International Olympic Committee's new policy on gender testing to determine eligibility to compete in women's events a "step backwards", but other countries welcomed the move.
Issued on: 27/03/2026 - RFI
France's Sports Minister Marina Ferrari said the test, which is banned under French law, "raises major concerns, as it specifically targets women by introducing a distinction that undermines the principle of equality".
"France regrets this step backwards," Ferrari added, recalling that the IOC scrapped a similar test in 1999 "due to strong reservations from the scientific community regarding their usefulness".
The IOC announced on Thursday only "biological females" will be allowed to take part in women's events, preventing transgender women from competing.
It is re-introducing gender testing from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics onwards in a move which will also rule out many athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD), previously known as intersex athletes.
The French minister said the new IOC policy "defines the female sex without taking into consideration the biological specificities of intersex people whose sexual characteristics present natural variations, which leads to a reductive and potentially stigmatising approach".
The IOC said there may be "rare exceptions" for DSD athletes who do not benefit from the performance-enhancing effects of testosterone.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry said on Thursday that athletes from countries where the gender test was banned would have to be tested in other countries.
"If it is illegal in a country, athletes will have the possibility when they travel to other competitions to be tested there," Coventry said.
"This is also why we're saying the policy comes into effect now, but will be implemented in LA 28. So we have time to walk through this process with everyone."
The sport of athletics introduced the gender test last year.
The president of France's athletics federation, Jean Gracia, told AFP: "The solution we have found, is that we benefit from all the occasions when athletes are outside France in order to do what is required."
Rights court says Olympic runner Semenya did not get fair trial in gender case
'Greater clarity'
New Zealand's Olympic Committee said the IOC ruling would bring greater "clarity" to future Games.
New Zealand fielded transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard in the women's competition at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 in a controversial first.
NZOC chief executive Nicki Nicol said the new policy would bring "greater clarity, consistency and fairness to eligibility for the female category at the Olympic level".
Australian Olympic Committee president Ian Chesterman said the IOC had comprehensively investigated what he called a "complex issue" before making its decision.
"Harry Potter" creator JK Rowling, who has been one of the fiercest supporters of the argument that only those born female at birth are women, also welcomed the IOC's new policy.
Rowling posted her message on X with a picture of Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer who sparked a furore over her gender eligibility at the Paris Olympics.
The author said the "ruling by the IOC means a welcome return to fair sport for women and girls, but I'll never forget the scandal of Paris 2024, when people who consider themselves supremely virtuous and progressive publicly cheered on men punching women."
The IOC policy is in line with an executive order issued by US President Donald Trump last year which banned transgender athletes from women's sport.
Trump said on his Truth Social network the IOC's move was "only happening because of my powerful Executive Order, standing up for Women and Girls!"
Eligibility for the female category will be decided by genetic testing, which will test athletes to see if they have the SRY gene which determines whether a person is biologically male.
The test wil be carried out by a swab of the cheek or blood samples and will only take place once in an athlete's career.
Announcing the test on Thursday, IOC chief Coventry said: "I do feel that this policy is a policy that is supporting equality and fairness and the protection of the safety on the field of play."
Being male, more religious and more aggressive increases the likelihood of transphobia
A Universitat Rovira i Virgili study involving more than 300 adults from Tarragona, Barcelona and Lleida identifies religiosity and physical aggression as factors associated with higher levels of transphobia and attitudes of harassment towards trans people
image:
Fàbia Morales and Jorge Dueñas.
view moreCredit: URV.
Attacks on trans people are not isolated incidents but rather the visible manifestation of a transphobia that is much more widespread than is often perceived. A new study by a research team from the Department of Psychology at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) has put the focus not on the victims of transphobia, but rather on those who discriminate and attack, and the aim of the study is clear: to better understand the origin of the hatred so that it can be prevented. According to the research, published in the journal Psychological Reports, being male and heterosexual are much higher indicators of transphobia than, for example, age and political ideology, despite the impression generated by some public debates. The results also point to two particularly decisive factors: religiosity and physical aggression.
This pioneering study is set against a worrying backdrop; despite some legal advances, LGBTIQ people continue to suffer a high level of violence and discrimination in Europe. A recent report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2024) indicates that 64% of trans women and 63% of trans men have experienced hate-motivated violence, and that cases have increased since the previous report in 2019.
In Spain, following the sharp increase recorded in 2022, the most recent data from the Interior Ministry indicate that in 2023 there were 522 hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation and gender identity, making it the second most frequent motive for hate crimes in the country. Although there was an overall decrease in hate crimes in 2024, cases linked to LGTBI phobia continue to represent a very significant proportion of the total. Furthermore, Catalonia continues to be one of the regions in Spain where the most cases are recorded. The study’s authors also warn that the figures probably do not tell the full story as reporting these crimes remains a difficult process for many victims, especially for trans people, who often find that they have to expose themselves again to potentially hostile environments.
333 voices to draw the map of transphobia in Catalonia
To create a profile of the group that exhibits the most transphobic attitudes, the team collected data from 333 adults from Tarragona, Barcelona and Lleida, aged between 18 and 65, although more than three-quarters were between 18 and 26 years old. Of those surveyed, 69.1% identified as women, 25.5% as men and 5.4% as non-binary; 4.8% defined themselves as trans and almost all the rest as cis.
Regarding sexual orientation, 66.4% identified as heterosexual, 10.5% as gay or lesbian and 23.1% as bisexual, and the majority lived in urban areas (82%). In terms of ideology, the options “liberal” and “socialist” predominated, with a significant proportion of people classifying themselves in “other” categories.
All of them completed an online battery of questionnaires that measured the participants’ degree of transphobia and aggression towards those who do not conform to gender norms, and their decision-making style, level of religiosity, empathy and different forms of aggression (physical, verbal).
Men and heterosexuals show higher levels of transphobia
The data are clear: men exhibit significantly higher levels of both transphobia and aggression than women, with the difference in transphobic attitudes being particularly marked. They also score higher in physical and verbal aggression and lower in empathy, especially in the affective dimension, that is, the ability to share what the other person is feeling.
Sexual orientation also plays a part. According to the study, heterosexual people exhibit more transphobia than bisexual people, although there were no significant differences between different orientations in terms of the level of direct aggression. Age was not significantly related to transphobia, and showed only a minimal association with direct aggression, while political ideology presented differences without any conclusive patterns.
Increased religiosity, increased transphobia; more aggression, more assaults
Where the study does find clear patterns is in the combination of religiosity, aggression and empathy. People with higher religiosity, measured by the degree of belief, the frequency of worship and prayer, and the importance of God in one’s life, show significantly higher levels of transphobia and attitudes of harassment towards trans people or those with non-normative gender expressions. In the models used in this study, religiosity emerges as the strongest predictor of these attitudes.
Physical and verbal aggression also play a significant role. Higher scores in physical and verbal aggression are associated with greater transphobia, with physical violence being one of the variables that best predicts direct assaults. In fact, the most complete statistical model shows that transphobia and physical aggression account for nearly 28% of the variability in assaults against trans people, with transphobia as the main predictor.
Empathy acts in the opposite way: both cognitive empathy (understanding what the other person is feeling) and, above all, affective empathy (sharing that feeling) are associated with lower levels of transphobia and aggression. People who are less able to empathise with the suffering of others are, according to the study, more likely to adopt hostile attitudes towards trans people.
Key for policy and prevention
The study concludes that if transphobia and aggression against trans people are to be reduced, then the main focus should be on tackling those who demonstrate religiosity and aggression, although efforts should also be made to reinforce empathy. In terms of religiosity, the study states that it is important for faith groups to put forward explicit discourses against trans discrimination, given the strong association between religiosity and transphobic attitudes. “The results do not imply that religious faith generates transphobia, but they do point to the need for religious spaces to become explicitly committed to the dignity and inclusion of trans people,” explained Jorge Dueñas, a researcher at the URV’s Department of Psychology who has participated in the research. “Religion, like any social aspect, can help to reduce stigma if it promotes clear discourses against discrimination,” he added.
Regarding aggression, the authors emphasised the need for prevention strategies to include programmes to reduce violence, especially physical violence, and to promote anger management. Such programmes, combined with educational interventions that foster affective empathy, could reduce both the rejection of trans people and the likelihood that such rejection will lead to aggression.
Despite the study’s limitations (the sample was taken from only three Catalan cities and there and featured low participation from trans and non-binary participants), the research provides a detailed map of risk factors and offers specific recommendations for future public policy and awareness-raising campaigns.
Journal
Psychological Reports
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Exploring Attitudes Toward Transgender Individuals: The Prediction of Transphobia and Gender-Bashing in Adults
The genetic testing put forward by the committee “fuels suspicion, invites public scrutiny, and puts already vulnerable athletes at risk,” said one advocate.
International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry (center) attends
(Photo by Li Ming/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Julia Conley
Mar 26, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
A new policy unveiled Thursday by the International Olympic Committee was presented as a ban on transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports—but considering just one transgender woman has participated in the international games since they have been eligible to, critics said the new rules would likely have a greater impact on cisgender women with natural variations in hormones, who have already faced degrading treatment and exclusion in the sports community for years.
IOC president Kirsty Coventry, who campaigned to lead the organization with calls to “protect” women’s sports in the Olympics, said that starting with the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, athletes will be required to take a one-time genetics test with the screening using a cheek swab, blood test, or saliva sample.
“Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females,” said Coventry, adding that the new policy “is based on science and has been led by medical experts.”
The IOC worked with experts to determine how to approach the issue of transgender women in sports, which in recent years has become the subject of talking points for the Republican Party in the US and other right-wing leaders. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last year barring transgender women from competing on women’s college sports teams.
The committee conducted a review not just of transgender athletes but of those who have differences in sexual development (DSD), such as being intersex, and compete in women’s sports. The review has not been publicly released, but the IOC said it found athletes born with male sexual markers had physical advantages even if they were receiving treatment to reduce testosterone.
The IOC had previously allowed transgender athletes to participate in the Olympic Games if they were reducing their testosterone levels. In 2021, a weight lifter from New Zealand, Laurel Hubbard, became the first transgender women to compete at the Olympics after transitioning.
Boxers including Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan and Imane Khelif of Algeria have been subject to scrutiny and genetic testing regarding their sex; Lin was recently cleared to participate in World Boxing events in the female category. Both competed in the 2024 Olympics in Paris and won gold medals.
Khelif has said she naturally has the SRY gene that the IOC’s screening would test for, and that she has naturally high levels of testosterone.
Under the IOC ruling, athletes who do not have the typical female XX sex chromosomes and have DSD will also be banned from competing. People with DSD are not always aware of their status.
South African runner Caster Semenya, who has a rare genetic trait giving her elevated levels of testosterone, was subjected to genetic testing after her fellow competitors complained about her appearance when she won a gold medal in a world championship in 2009.
Genetic screening for Olympic athletes “is not progress—it is walking backward,” she told The New York Times. “This is just exclusion with a new name.”
Payoshni Mitra, executive director of the advocacy group Humans of Sport, told the Times that the new policy simply “polices women’s bodies.”
“It fuels suspicion, invites public scrutiny, and puts already vulnerable athletes at risk,” she said.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday banned transgender women from competing in games, and said only "biological females" will be allowed to participate in women's events. The IOC is reintroducing testing for gender to determine eligibility, which will also rule out many athletes with differences in sexual development.
Issued on: 26/03/2026 -
By: FRANCE 24
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Thursday only "biological females" will be allowed to compete in women's events, preventing transgender women from competing.
The IOC is reintroducing testing for gender to determine eligibility to take part in women's events from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics onwards.
The move will also rule out many athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD).
In a major shift of policy, the IOC is abandoning rules it brought in in 2021 which allowed individual federations to decide their own policy and is instead implementing a policy across all Olympic sports.
"Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females, determined on the basis of a one-time SRY gene screening," the IOC said in a statement.
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They will be carried out through a saliva sample, cheek swab or blood sample. It will be done once in an athlete's lifetime.
IOC president Kirsty Coventry said: "The policy we have announced is based on science and has been led by medical experts.
"At the Olympic Games even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat.
"So it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe."
In a press conference later, Coventry added: "I do feel that this policy is a policy that is supporting equality and fairness and the protection of the safety on the field of play."
Removes potential Trump clash
The new policy removes a potential source of conflict between the IOC and US President Donald Trump as the Los Angeles Olympics comes onto the horizon.
Trump issued an executive order banning transgender athletes from women's sport soon after he came to office.
While sports such as swimming, athletics, cycling and rowing have brought in bans, many others have permitted transgender women to compete in the female category if they lowered their testosterone levels, normally through taking a course of drugs.
World Athletics welcomed the change of tack.
"We have led the way in protecting women's sport over the last decade," said a spokesperson for track and field's international body.
"Attracting and retaining more girls and women into sport requires a fair and level playing field where there is no biological glass ceiling.
"This means that gender cannot trump biology. A consistent approach across all sport has to be a good thing."
Gender testing was first introduced at the 1968 Olympics and last used at the 1996 Atlanta Games but then scrapped after criticism from the scientific community.
The new policy is set to face some opposition too, especially in relation to athletes with DSD, the rare condition in which a person's hormones, genes and reproductive organs may have a combination of male and female characteristics.
The British Journal of Sports Medicine said in an article this month there was "no scientific data of acceptable quality regarding sport performance advantage of people with DSDs possessing an SRY gene."
It added: "Evidence regarding their athletic performance is extremely limited and problematic."
The best-known DSD athlete of recent years is South African runner Caster Semenya, the two-time Olympic women's 800m champion who has male XY chromosomes.
The IOC is bringing in the new policy after the women's boxing competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics was rocked by a gender row involving Algerian fighter Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan.
Khelif and Lin were excluded from the International Boxing Association's 2023 world championships after the IBA said they had failed eligibility tests.
However, the IOC allowed them both to compete at the Paris Games, saying they had been victims of "a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA".
Both boxers went on to win gold medals.
Lin has since been cleared to compete in the female category at events run by World Boxing, the body that will oversee the sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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