case studies
Examples of Injustice
A few examples of the experiences reported to Sharron Davies, repeated all over the UK
A few examples of the experiences reported to Sharron Davies, repeated all over the UK
Spaces & Safety
Silencing & Pressure
Two lovely older ladies had been doing their ladies-only swimming class for years, not too far from where I live near Bath. It is the one thing they did religiously each week. One of the ladies has to catch a bus very early to come, and they always go for a coffee afterwards and put the world to rights. It keeps them fit, it is fun, gives them something to look forward to, and helps to maintain their mental health.
One day, an adult male turned up who self-identified as a woman. He insisted on changing in the open space they had with them, then doing the session. They complained to the leisure centre about how uncomfortable it made them feel, but were told there was nothing they could do; it was the law. But as we know, that is not the case at all. Self ID has never been the law in the UK, and the Equality Act enables safe, sex based changing rooms for dignity and safety.
They told staff that this man watched them undress and, though they tried to change under their towels and even in the toilet, it meant they no longer enjoyed their session. They felt threatened, and their feelings were ignored. When no one wanted to help them, they gave up their sessions. I have heard this story dozens of times.
It also applies to minority groups of women who are not permitted by their religion to change with men. Women and girls have been giving up their beloved activities because a man’s feelings became more important than all the females in the group.
fairness in Competition
youth impact
A mother wrote to me about her daughter’s school sports day. It was a primary school in the Midlands, and the head had one little boy who wished to identify as a girl. So, to seem inclusive, he decided they would run joint boys and girls races instead of single sex segregated events.
Not one little girl won a race all day. Statistics show us from 6, boys outperform girls on average in running and throwing. This very sporty 11 year old girl was in tears when she came home, she said to her mum, “what was the point of us taking part mum?”.
Her mum was furious but frightened of saying anything. Like so many. So she reached out to me, this email had me in tears. What message are we giving our little girls? The message they certainly got was that the feelings of every single little girl in that school were less important than the feelings of one boy, who thought he was something he was not.
He could have so easily still been included with the other little boys, where it was on a level playing field, wearing what he wanted, calling himself whatever he wanted. But instead, every little girl was sacrificed for that one boy’s feelings.
This again was not a lone school. Many schools decided to do this under the ridiculous banner of inclusivity. But it’s not inclusive to ignore the rights of all young females, to tell them their opportunities and feelings just don’t matter. At the WSU we intend to stop this inequality and stupidity.
fairness in Competition
Silencing & Pressure
A senior and accomplished female sports coach contacted me, prepared to give up her job because she was being asked to drop a hardworking, talented female member of her squad and replace her with a biological male, in a women’s team.
I encouraged her to rally the women in her team, and they then approached their governing body and said they would not race with this male on their team because it was unfair and unjust.
The power of that unified approach made their sport change its rules to at last protect the female category, but all of those involved were still not prepared to break cover publicly, such is the way female coaches and athletes are attacked and shamed for just wanting fair sport based on proven science.
It was a win, but had to be done in secret because of the fear of activist retribution on careers and earning capacity.
We now know most sports at elite level offer some protection for their female athletes. This has taken ten years to claw back, but it must be won back for all women at all levels.
fairness in Competition
youth impact
The father of a female youth football team player wrote to me about the FA’s policy of putting teenage girls’ teams up against boys’ teams a few years younger to toughen them up. And of course, also of allowing males to self-ID into female teams.
His daughter’s team had not won a single fixture all year against these teams, often losing by huge scores. They had also sustained increased injuries, and their morale had fallen through the floor. His daughter had started self-harming. He did not know what to do to help her, and they were both scared to speak out.
At one time, over 100 known males were stealing places on women’s football teams. There are over 4000 football clubs in the UK, but only 10% offer a female team to play on. Males kick 50% harder than females, and the Q angle from knees to hips gives males a better cadence when running. Women and girls get so much less opportunity to play sports than their male counterparts: less money, less exposure, and less support.
I suggested all the parents come together to say “NO” and protect their kids, but he felt unable to do that, such was the pressure of the FA. They have now at least done that, but not for the benefit of their female athletes, more because insurance companies will not indemnify public liability claims, which are against the law, re the Supreme Court clarification of April 2025.
Spaces & Safety
Silencing & Pressure
A woman contacted me about her daughter’s ice hockey team; they were primarily a junior team of 15, 16 and 17-year-old girls. An adult man in his late 20s who identified as a woman joined the team, and a girl was dropped to enable him to play matches.
The mother found pornographic images on his social media and alerted the team manager and the club. They did nothing. They even vilified the mother. She was told she could not stop this male from playing on her daughter’s team. This same individual was allowed to use the women’s changing rooms.
Again, most of the parents were petrified to speak out. A few moved to other clubs, but we don’t have that many ice hockey rinks in the UK, so that was hard to do. The rest came changed for games, and of course, again injuries went up. The girls also commented that they felt they were cheating by fielding a male on their team.
He has now been removed, but this went on for a long time. We know bad laws will be taken advantage of by bad people, but that inevitability has been ignored for virtue signalling points, and women and girls have paid the price.
If you’ve experienced something similar, you don’t have to stay silent.
You can contact us directly for support, or explore our legal templates to take action in your own time.
In 2025, the UK Supreme Court confirmed that under the Equality Act 2010 the terms man and woman mean biological sex. This ruling removes any doubt about how the Act applies in sport and safeguarding.
The earlier Sex Discrimination Act 1975 had already made it unlawful to treat someone less favourably because of their sex. The Equality Act built on these protections, and the Court’s decision makes clear that female-only sport is fully supported in UK law.
To support our members in defending their rights, WSU provides legal template letters crafted by lawyers. These are designed to help you raise concerns clearly and effectively with the right institutions.


These resources are available exclusively to WSU members. By joining, you gain access to practical tools crafted by lawyers, empowering you to act with confidence.
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Hello & a Huge Welcome to the WSU.
My name is Sharron Davies. I’m an Olympic swimmer who competed in three Olympic Games in three different decades. I’ve won medals at all major internationals, including the Olympics and then spent the next 35 years poolside as a sports journalist, working in the media. I haven’t missed an Olympic Games since 1976. I competed at my first international when I was 11, my last at 31.
I’ve been in or around elite women’s sport for over 50 years. At the height of my career, I was forced to compete repeatedly against testosterone-fueled East Germans, who all of my silver and bronze medals were behind. For over twenty years, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did nothing to stop this gross injustice and a whole generation of young women, across the world, lost out on life-changing medal opportunities because of cheating. As well as those young East German girls being so badly used, abused and neglected.
This gross injustice meant that in recent years, when males were allowed to compete unfairly and often unsafely against females, from as far back as 2015, I felt I could not remain silent and watch yet another generation of worthy women lose out. So I chose to speak. It’s been ten years now of activism, and in the very early days, I was almost alone with my voice.
It has been a long and hard battle. But we are winning. There are now many groups of brave and brilliant women (and men, of course) prepared to break cover and fight for female rights. But there has not been a mechanism to better protect those rights, hence I wanted to form the Women’s Sports Union.
So, here we are…hopefully with your help, forming a powerful coalition of sports enthusiasts who believe that fairness has to be the cornerstone of sport, that going forward, female participation cannot be relegated to being less important than male participation.
Tracy embarked on her first Whitbread Round the World Race 1985-86 at the age of 21, as the first girl to ever race around the world on a Maxi when she joined "Atlantic Privateer" as cook.
She won international fame in 1990 as the founder/skipper of the first all-woman crew to sail around the world when they raced in the 1989/90 Whitbread Round the World Race. This was an unprecedented moment in women’s sport. Surviving icebergs, food shortages and sub-zero conditions, Tracy led her pioneering all-female crew to a hard earned second place. Their courage, strength and determination inspired thousands and made their vessel, Maiden, one of the most iconic yachts in the world. Maiden has since opened the door for a generation of female sailors, forever changing the world of sailing.
Tracy was awarded an MBE and became the first woman in its 34 year history to be awarded the Yachtsman of the Year Trophy. She paved the way for other women to follow.
In 1998 she founded/skippered the first all-female crew to attempt the Jules Verne non-stop round the world record. They were on course for the record but were dismasted off Cape Horn. They jury-rigged the yacht and made it to Chile without assistance. During their attempt the team broke 7 world records.
In 2000/01 Tracy created and managed the world’s first mixed sex professional record-breaking crew with Maiden II. The team broke, among others, the 24 hour record which became the fastest record in the world.
In 2014 Maiden was found rotting in the Seychelles and so Tracy raised the funds to rescue her and bring her home, restoring her to her former glory. The Maiden Factor was set up to raise funds and awareness for the education of 130 million girls worldwide who are currently denied this basic right. In November 2018, this iconic piece of British Maritime History, embarked on a six-year, 60,000 nm world tour. Maiden became a Global Ambassador for the Empowerment of Girls through Education.
Tracy’s book ‘Living Every Second’ was published in 2000. The film ‘Maiden’ premiered in 2019 to critical acclaim and was shortlisted for a BAFTA and an Academy Award.
In September 2023, Maiden set off on her final race around the world with the most diverse professional racing crew ever. In February 2024 Maiden carried the first three black female crew and first Afghan, to ever sail around Cape Horn. In April 2024, Maiden became the first all-female crew to win an around the world race and guaranteed her place forever in the yachting hall of fame.
Tracy currently runs The Maiden Factor Foundation with the focus on getting girls into education with the ultimate aim of financial autonomy and is also a Motivational Speaker.

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