UN expert calls for equality and stronger protections for women and girls in sports

NEW YORK – Violence against women and girls in sports is a serious and systemic human rights issue that demands immediate attention at all levels, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, Reem Alsalem, said today.

“Women and girls in sports face multiple forms of violence, including economic, physical, psychological and online violence,” Alsalem said in her report to the 79th session of the General Assembly.

Alsalem details structural causes of violence against women and girls in sport, including male-dominated cultures, underrepresentation of women in leadership roles, and unequal investments in female sports; challenges that are exacerbated by intersecting forms of discrimination, including based on sex, gender, age, race, religion, and disability.

Alsalem also details systemic barriers that prevent women and girls from participating in sports on equal footing with men and boys. These include harmful social stereotypes, pervasive sexism in sport, the absence of role models, unequal share of caregiving responsibilities, and limited access to training facilities, infrastructure and resources.

“Women and girls already have many odds stacked against them that impede their equal and effective participation in sports. In addition, their ability to play sport in conditions of safety, dignity and fairness has been further eroded by the intrusion of males who identify as female in female-only sports and related spaces,” she said.

The Special Rapporteur calls for the creation in sport of open categories and the introduction of non-invasive, confidential and simple sex screenings where necessary, to ensure the inclusive participation of all persons in sports while guaranteeing fairness, safety and dignity for female athletes.

“Impunity for perpetrators of violence remains widespread, fostering a continued culture of silence and injustice,” Alsalem said, adding that autonomous regulatory frameworks of sports organisations often prioritise reputation and winning over justice for victims.

While welcoming positive actions taken by several Governments, sports bodies and civil society organisations to improve the participation of women and girls in sport, Alsalem urges all actors to double their efforts in preventing, prosecuting, and condemning violence. “Unless sports actors commit to making sport safer and fairer for women and girls, societies cannot fully capitalise on its potential to drive much-needed social change: to achieve sex and gender equality and empower all women and girls.”