England and Wales women soccer fans suffer sexist abuse at matches

Close to half of women soccer fans in England and Wales have personally experienced sexist or misogynistic abuse at matches but most have never reported it to authorities, a new study by anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out revealed on Wednesday.

Wolf-whistling, being questioned about their knowledge of the rules and persistent badgering were some of the forms of sexist behavior experienced by the 1,502 people surveyed, of whom 7% said they had been touched inappropriately, 3% were victims of physical violence and 2% sexually assaulted or harassed.

Although the research showed sexism was still a significant issue for female match-goers, as well as for non-binary fans, 77% said they felt safe attending matches and four in 10 stated their experiences had been improving over time.

But ethnic minorities, members of the LGBTQ community, those with disabilities and younger people were more likely to feel unsafe and experience sexism in a soccer setting, the research said.

The vast majority of those surveyed, 85%, said they had never reported the abuse, mostly because they didn’t think it would make a difference.

“Football needs to step up to ensure sexism is taken seriously and that women feel safe and confident to report discrimination,” said Hollie Varney, from Kick It Out. “We’ve seen reports of sexism to Kick It Out increase significantly in recent seasons.”

The research has also highlighted the use of sexist language, with 53% of respondents saying they had experienced or witnessed women being told that they should be elsewhere, such as “back in the kitchen.”

Using the research data, Kick It Out has launched a campaign to ensure women fans know sexist abuse is discrimination and can be reported, and to show male fans how they can challenge those behaviors when they see them.

Reports of sexism in soccer go beyond fans’ experiences. In 2014, a female employee exposed sexist emails Premier League former chief executive Richard Scudamore sent to friends, forcing him to apologize.

In 2018, the British Football Association was forced to apologize after it was accused of sexism for sharing a picture on X of the England women’s soccer team with the caption: “Scrub up well, don’t they?”

In Spain, former soccer federation chief Luis Rubiales will stand trial for his unsolicited kiss of women’s national team player Jenni Hermoso in August last year. For players and fans, this proved that despite progress in the women’s game more structural change was needed.

(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Ros Russell)