Pregnancy Discrimination and Sport: National Pregnancy in Sport Guidelines for the Australian Sporting Industry

The issue of pregnant women in sport raises a number of issues; legal, medical as well as human rights. Some are based in fact, others are medico-myth, more reflective of fear and ignorance.

Such as the notion that women will automatically and immediately be affected and impaired by pregnancy - as though pregnancy were an illness or disability.

Or that the sight of a pregnant body will somehow offend or affect those around her - as though pregnancy was catching, or scary, or evoke in others a need to protect the pregnant woman at cost to themselves.

With this in mind and, as Minister Rod Kemp has rightly pointed out, discriminating against pregnant women who play sport has implications for the strength and integrity of discrimination law in a wider sense.

These guidelines are a welcome demonstration that the government is doing something positive and proactive to help the sports industry understand all the issues surrounding pregnant women in sport. It will serve as a valuable resource to enable sporting organisations and sport participants to make informed decisions about pregnancy in sport.

We at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission have had the pleasure of being closely involved in the work of the Sports Commission in creating these guidelines. I attended the National Forum on Pregnancy and Sport held in August last year, as my very first engagement as Sex Discrimination Commissioner, and was given the opportunity to comment on the guidelines in draft form. I congratulate and commend the Sports Commission for ensuring issues of discrimination were central in its considerations.

For us at HREOC, these guidelines will be particularly useful in managing complaints.

Apart from public awareness, policy and legislative development, the HREOC is responsible for taking public complaints from people who feel that they need advice or assistance with a problem caused by discrimination or by a breach of human rights. One of the grounds of unlawful discrimination, of course is pregnancy and potential pregnancy. As Sex Discrimination Commissioner, I am not directly responsible for handling complaints made under the Act. That is the role of the President. However, I am always concerned to monitor the number and nature of complaints of sex discrimination made.

The HREOC will asses the complaint to ensure it falls under one of the discrimination laws it administers, investigate the facts and contact the respondent. Where possible the Commission will attempt to conciliate the complaint or resolve it as early as possible.

Pregnancy discrimination amounts to 17% of complaints made under the Sex Discrimination Act annually.

These guidelines will be useful in assisting parties to conciliate complaints, and to help parties come to a mutually satisfying outcome.

Overall, the Pregnancy in Sport Guidelines provide a sensible direction on how to deal with what has proved to be a surprisingly sensitive issue.

Pregnancy is not an illness, but rather a part of life, the person best equipped to make the decision about the health of her child is the mother and her medical practitioner.

Sporting organisations and administrators owe a duty of care to people, including pregnant women, who participate in sport.

However, these guidelines indicate that a sensible approach is to assume that, with appropriate advice and information from the organisation, a pregnant woman, along with her medical practitioner, will make the right decision concerning her participation in sport. These guidelines give sound advice to all those involved.

The message that I took away from them is that we can all relax and enjoy our sport: it is good for us and its fun, whether we are pregnant or not.

Last updated 14 June 2002

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