Spain’s Socialist Party has announced plans to ban transgender women from competing against biological women in sports as part of proposed amendments to the country’s LGBTQ+ laws.
The changes, announced during a party congress in Seville, also include the removal of the term “queer” from the LGBTQ+ acronym.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who was recently re-elected as secretary general of his Socialist Party (PSOE) despite corruption investigations dogging his inner circle, has defended the proposals, which aim to address concerns raised by feminist factions. traditional within the party.
But the planned reforms have sparked a fierce backlash from LGBTQ+ activists and left-wing coalition partners who accuse the Socialists – leaders of the minority government – of transphobia and aligning themselves with far-right ideology.
At the center of the controversy is a policy change that would limit participation in women’s sports to people “with the biological sex of female,” according to a document finalized over the weekend, according to The Telegraph.
The move follows criticism from feminist groups who argue that existing legislation has undermined women’s rights and compromised fair competition in sports.
The changes come less than two years after the passage of Spain’s 2023 transgender rights law, which allows people as young as 12 to change their legal gender, albeit with parental or judicial consent for minors. 16 years old.
They have reignited the debate over trans rights in Spain, which is widely considered one of the most progressive and safe places for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Participants of the annual LGBTQ pride parade carry the rainbow flag in Madrid, Spain
Participants compete in the Heel Race as part of the Pride celebrations, in the Chueca neighborhood of Madrid from July 4 to 29, 2024.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who was recently re-elected general secretary of his Socialist Party (PSOE) despite corruption investigations affecting his inner circle, has defended proposed amendments to Spain’s ‘Trans Law’.
Carmen Calvo, a former socialist deputy prime minister and open critic of the original law, welcomed the amendments which she said would “destroy the powerful battery of equality legislation in our country,” according to The telegraph.
He previously warned that the self-identification policy risked eroding hard-won equality legislation, citing cases where newly registered transgender women used the law to avoid convictions for violence against women.
Advocacy group Against the Erasure of Women also praised the decision and urged the government to review regional and national laws that currently allow self-identified women to compete in women’s sports.
“This is a crucial step toward protecting the integrity of women’s sports,” the group said.
The tension reflects a broader divide within the feminist movement, with some arguing that transgender rights undermine the achievements of cisgender women.
The proposed reforms have also sparked a wave of criticism from activists and political allies alike.
Irene Montero, former Equality Minister of the left-wing Podemos party, denounced the changes and wrote in X: “A trans woman is a woman.” Whatever the PSOE says, this is transphobia. The rights of trans people are human rights. Everything else is not classical feminism or left-wing politics, it is simply transphobia.”
It also cited reports from Human Rights Watch, which condemned sexual testing in sports as degrading and discriminatory, despite a torrent of scientific evidence showing that trans women have a significant physical advantage over biological women.
A recent United Nations report revealed the high number of medals that female athletes have lost to trans opponents in elite sport and found that athletes born male had gender-specific attributes, such as greater strength, that were advantageous in certain sports and resulted in the “loss of fair opportunities” for biologically female competitors.
Several transgender athletes who transitioned after retiring from competition also admitted that they would have enjoyed an advantage if they had competed against women.
American swimmer Lia Thomas, who was the first transgender athlete to win the US’s highest national collegiate title when she swam for the University of Pennsylvania in 2022.
Transgender athletes who have won gold medals in sporting events include Canadian cyclist Veronica Ivy, who became the first transgender cycling champion when she won gold at the UCI Women’s Masters Track Cycling World Championships.
Mar Cambrollé, president of the activist group La Plataforma Trans, accused the Socialist Party of co-opting feminist rhetoric to justify the deployment of exclusionary policies.
He compared the “perverse use of feminism” by the PSOE with “the right that says that immigrants are the cause of crime.”
“When a progressive party falls into the same ideology as the extreme right, pointing us out as heralds of social evil, it is very dangerous for our democracy and the fight for equality,” he said in a post on social media.
For Sánchez, the decision to support these amendments is a political gamble, one that risks alienating progressive voters while appealing to a more centrist base concerned about the perceived overreach of recent transgender legislation.
Sánchez, one of Europe’s longest-serving leaders, has demonstrated deft negotiating skills to remain in power since 2018, when he led Spain’s only successful no-confidence motion against his conservative predecessor.
Last year he defied the polls to win re-election by forming a fragile coalition and winning another term until 2027.
But the 52-year-old is being cornered by a series of legal cases – all still under investigation – that have focused on a former member of his cabinet, as well as his wife and, more recently, his brother.
Sánchez surprised Spain last April when he said he would take five days from his public schedule to consider his political future after his wife, Begoña Gómez, was placed under investigation by a Spanish judge.
He ultimately announced that he would remain in power and launch an effort to address what he called fake news that is “clouding” Spanish politics.
The Prime Minister of Spain and general secretary of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), Pedro Sánchez, applauds during the opening of the 41st congress of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) at the Exhibition Palace in Seville, on November 30, 2024.
The judge is investigating accusations of influence peddling and corruption by Gómez.
The accusations were made by Clean Hands, a small group whose leader has ties to the far right. The group calls itself a union and has often attempted to litigate against elected officials, and even the sister of Spain’s current king.
The Socialist Party took advantage of the fact that the accusations were based on articles published by right-leaning media outlets, mostly websites.
Sánchez refused to answer questions when summoned by the judge, citing his prerogative as prime minister.
Gómez has also been dragged before a committee headed by regional legislators from the Madrid region who say they are investigating her role as director of a master’s program at a public university. She denies any wrongdoing.
The brother of the President of the Government, David Sánchez, is also under investigation. Also in that case, Clean Hands was behind the accusations of alleged influence peddling.
Last week, a judge announced that she was investigating how David Sánchez was appointed to his position in the Department of Culture of the provincial government of Badajoz, in southwestern Spain. David Sánchez denied having committed irregularities through his lawyer.
Government spokesperson Pilar Alegría stated last week that while the Government respects the separation of powers and judicial processes, she found “suspicious similarities” between the cases involving the prime minister’s wife and brother.
Another case that has been buzzing for several months revolves around an alleged corruption network of businessmen and government officials suspected of having received bribes for contracts to purchase medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.