The participation of transgender women and DSD athletes in female categories has been one of the most contentious points in sport for decades. Photo: Wikimedia CommonsIn a seismic decision on Thursday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned transgender women and DSD (Differences in Sex Development) athletes from competing in the female categories. Further, it added that any woman wanting to compete in international sport must now undergo a mandatory SRY gene screening, or a sex test.Here’s what to know.What is the SRY Gene?SRY stands for ‘sex determining region Y’. The SRY gene is a segment of DNA that is almost always on the Y chromosome, signalling the presence of testes/testicles and “initiating male sex development by the production of testosterone”, the IOC said.Professor Andrew Sinclair, who first discovered the SRY gene in 1990, had said last year that it is not an accurate marker. “If there is a change in the SRY gene so it does not function as usual, then a person can fail to develop testes and be biologically female,” he wrote in The Conversation last year.So why has IOC decided to screen athletes for the SRY gene before allowing them to compete in the female category?The participation of transgender women and DSD athletes in female categories has been one of the most contentious points in sport for decades. The IOC earlier said that transgender women “should not be deemed to have an unfair or disproportionate competitive advantage” over biological women. But science proved that having male chromosomes is an advantage when competing with females.Also in Explained | The Olympics’ policy to bar transgender people from women’s sports, and its far-reaching impactSo, the world body said the decision was taken to “protect the female category and for fairness and safety”. It added that based on the scientific evidence, “the SRY Gene is fixed throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced or will experience male sex development”.Story continues below this adWhat is the magnitude of the advantage that male athletes have over female athletes?In its policy document, the IOC said that at an elite level:There is a 10-12 per cent male performance advantage in most running and swimming events;There is a 20+ per cent male performance advantage in most throwing and jumping events;The male performance advantage can be greater than 100 per cent in events that involve explosive power, e.g. in collision, lifting and punching sports.How does the SRY gene screening take place?Athletics and boxing are among the few sports that have already implemented this policy. Adille Sumariwalla, the former president and current spokesperson of the Athletics Federation of India, said the athletes are asked to give a saliva sample at any diagnostic lab. Once the lab receives the sample, it can take up to a week to analyse and issue the results. The results are then submitted to the world body for further action.Only athletes who wish to compete in elite sports and aim to compete at the Olympics will have to undergo the screening. It won’t apply to grassroots sports or those playing for leisure since it is out of the IOC’s jurisdiction. However, the IOC has advised athletes to undergo the screening early in their careers, “so that athletes and their entourage can make informed decisions about their investment in competition in the Female Category”. For tests involving minor athletes, the IOC said there should be proper safeguarding and protection mechanisms.Story continues below this adThe IOC said, “Unless there is a reason to believe a negative reading is an error, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime test.” The athletes who screen negative for the SRY gene will be permanently eligible to compete in the female category.Can an athlete refuse to take the test?Yes. But in such cases, the athlete won’t be allowed to compete in events organised by the IOC, including the Olympic Games, Winter Olympics, Youth Olympics, and Winter Youth Olympics.Also read | Furore over Imane Khelif’s gender is fueled by Western prejudiceIf the individual sports federations, too, implement this policy — as the IOC has directed them to — the athletes who refuse the test won’t be allowed to compete in their respective international events as well.Story continues below this adWhat if it is a positive test?Athletes with an SRY-positive screen won’t be allowed to compete in female categories. But they will be eligible for any male category, including in a designated male slot within any mixed category, and any open category or in sports that do not classify athletes by sex. XY-DSD athletes with Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (CAIS) and other rare XY DSDs that do not benefit from the anabolic and/or performance-enhancing effects of testosterone would be eligible to compete in female category.In terms of available data on how many tests return positive, such cases are ‘very rare’ – less than 1 per cent, according to the IOC. The athletes with positive tests can seek a clinical diagnosis that would clarify their eligibility, the IOC said. Of all SRY gene screenings, 99 per cent are negative.Over the course of a 18-year-long career, Mihir Vasavda has covered 2010 FIFA World Cup; the London 2012, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games; Asian Games in 2014 and 2022; Commonwealth Games in 2010 and 2018; Hockey World Cups in 2018 and 2023 and the 2023 ODI Cricket World Cup. ... Read More © The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Express Explained