LONDON, Sept 11 (Askume) – Nearly half of female fans in England and Wales have personally experienced sexist or misogynistic abuse at a match but most have never experienced it, a new study by an anti-discrimination group published on Wednesday found.
Sexist behaviour experienced by the 1,502 respondents included wolf-whistling, demanding information about rules, and persistent harassment, with 7% reporting being touched inappropriately, 3% being victims of physical violence, and 2% being victims of sexual assault or harassment.
The research shows sexism remains a significant issue for female matchgoers and non-binary fans, despite this 77% still say they feel safe attending matches, with four in 10 saying that over time, their experience is improving.
But research shows that ethnic minorities, members of the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities and young people are more likely to feel unsafe and experience sexism on football pitches.
The majority of people surveyed (85%) said they never reported abuse because they felt it would have little impact.
Kick It Out’s Holly Varney said: “The football community needs to take action to ensure sexism is taken seriously and that women feel safe and confident when reporting it. “We have identified concerns about sexism in recent seasons of Kick It Out reports. Significantly.”
The study also highlighted the use of gender-discriminatory language, with 53% of respondents saying they had experienced or witnessed women being told they should go somewhere else, such as “back to the kitchen”.
Using research data, Kick It Out launched a campaign to let female fans know that gender-biased abuse is discrimination and can be reported, and to show male fans what to do if they see it, let’s look at how they challenge these behaviours.
Reports of gender discrimination in football go far beyond the fan experience. In 2014, former Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore apologised after a female employee revealed sexist emails he had sent to friends .
In 2018, the Football Association was accused of sexism for sharing a photo of the England women’s team on X and was forced to apologise with the caption: “Pretty good – clean up?”
In Spain, former football federation president Luis Rubiales will be prosecuted for kissing women’s national team player Jenny Hermoso without asking last August. For players and fans, it ‘s proof that progress has been made in the women’s game, but more structural changes are needed.
