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Nottingham Law School researcher contributes to ground-breaking workshop on rugby transgender policy

A researcher from Nottingham Law School has contributed to a ground-breaking workshop held by World Rugby to discuss introducing a transgender policy for the sport.

    Rugby ball

    Senior lecturer, Dr Seema Patel, is an international expert on gender discrimination in sport. She recently attended two days of discussion with World Rugby, which brought together leading independent experts to share their expertise, opinions and research with a dedicated multi-disciplinary transgender participation working group.

    Commenting on her involvement, Dr Patel said: “I am honoured to be part of such a positive move by an international sports governing body. It is a landmark moment for a governing body to welcome the views of leading experts across the field. I am pleased that my expertise in sports law and discrimination in sport will contribute in some way to policy making in this area.”

    Dr Patel’s publications have covered topics such as genetic testing in sport, the role of law in tackling inequality, and inclusion and exclusion in competitive sport.

    She has commented internationally on the issue of gender equality in sport, including on the cases of athletes Dutee Chand and Caster Semenya. She recently took part in a BBC documentary entitled The Trans Women Athlete Dispute with Martina Navratilova.

    Published on 2 March 2020
    • Category: Press office; Research; Nottingham Law School