Attention has recently been focused on the role that gender plays in and for the purposes of sport. The debate has focused primarily on the manner in which a person's gender is to be determined. Such debates are difficult debates to resolve in light of the highly sensitive nature of the manner in which a person considers him- or herself to be a him- or herself. The attitude of South African law to gender descriptions is an area of the debate that has received little attention in the media of late yet the law may provide the answers that are so desperately sought by the debate.

Consequently, consideration should be given to the provisions of a statute designed to deal with the alteration of the sex description of certain individuals in the form of the Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act No. 49 of 2003 ("the Act"). The Act commenced with effect from 15 March 2004 and its preamble states that it is designed and intended "[t]o provide for the alteration of the sex description of certain individuals in certain circumstances; and to amend the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1992, as a consequence; and to provide for matters incidental thereto."

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Written by: Neil Kirkby, Director at Werksmans incorporating Jan S de Villiers.