GLOBAL PEACE Foundation and WFT Determined to End GBV In Women’s Football.

 GLOBAL PEACE Foundation and  WFT Determined to End GBV In Women’s Football. 

By Deogratius Temba

Violence Against Women and girls (VAWG) occurs in all societies, at any stage of a woman's lifecycle and at any social life that women live. The violence that women face affects their day-to-day life, particularly how they participate in the mainstream of community life. 

Women’s participation in sports particularly in football is very low globally, one of the reasons is Gender-Based Violence, stigma, and attitudes towards women who participate in football. The situation has denied women an opportunity to leap the benefits of football sports especially good health, physical fitness, and economic opportunities.

Gender-based violence (GBV) in sports refers to any physical, psychological, sexual, or economic violence perpetrated against women just because they are women footballers.

 This may occur in various dimensions varied from the family level, community level, clubs’ level, and other public spaces. They may take all forms including physical, psychological/emotional, and sexual acts of violence.

In the year 2021, Women Fund Tanzania (WFT) facilitated the Global Peace Foundation Tanzania (GPF), to conduct a situational analysis of Gender Violence in women's football in Tanzania. Specifically, the study addressed three key objectives, which aimed at determining and establishing the magnitude of GBV in Football sport in Tanzania; assessing the policy gap on preventing and responding to GBV in sports, and generating stakeholders’ recommendations on policy improvements to be done in football to improve women participation and excellence.

The results from the study showed the need for intervention and rationale for the policy review. The study came up with several recommendations that were worked on for the WFT and the Global Peace Foundation to engage various stakeholders, and consult on how to end Gender-based Violence, .in women’s football. There were also good recommendations to persuade various organizations and sports stakeholders to cooperate to ensure that GBV such as Sexual harassment of girls and women in football ends.

In addition, stakeholders suggested that the government intervene and set guidelines and policies that will lead to the protection of women and girls in the sports sector.

The Government of Tanzania has taken initiative in addressing Violence Against Women and Children in Tanzania by developing the National Plan of Action to End Violence Against Women and Children (NPA-VAWC). 2016/17-2021-22. Despite the efforts, women and girls in football continue to suffer from GBV because of the gaps in the implementation of specific regulations in sports., apart from that, the community still stigmatizes women who participate in football and other sports.

Speaking to the journalist, The GPF’s Country Director, Ms. Martha Nghambi, said that, after doing the GBV study last year, this year 2022 WFT supported GPFs in the implementation of the f recommendations of the Research report.

Ms. Martha says that the GPF has already conducted various activities including dialogues with various stakeholders to discuss how to improve the environment of girls who play football and ensure that they are not subjected to acts of sexual violence. Moreover, She added that GPF has already conducted meetings with TFF, BMT, Tanzania women's football associations, and women and girls footballers, and now they are preparing to meet with sports journalists and media leaders to discuss the best way to improve the news reporting of women’s football.

“ ... we are very grateful to WFT for funding this project in 2021, and later this year for the intervention in response to the findings which gave us light on where to start in lobbying and advocacy. We would want  to  want to collaborate with the government and other football bodies to create awareness in the community, especially women who play and participate in football, to change the attitude towards acts of humiliation for women in the sports industry without forgetting the clubs and coaches” said Martha

Martha added that Global peace in collaboration with Women Fund Tanzania has expectations to set safeguarding guidelines, rules, and policies that will prevent acts of sexual violence and protect women from humiliation in sports.

. It was found from the baseline study that there are no policies within the clubs both registered and unregistered that address Violence. The Tanzania Football Federation and Zanzibar Football Federation in collaboration with the responsible ministries should instruct each club to develop internal policies that aim at addressing violence against women footballers. This will enhance psychosocial and other services to women and girls who are subjected to violence.

The following were the recommendations from the baseline which have been used to inform the intervention which has been taking place since July this year 2022.

Establishing Special Programs for Promoting Women’s Football: The finding of the study indicated that women’s leagues are not prioritized in terms of sponsorship. Therefore, TFF should also solicit funds to sponsor women’s football or give free licenses to some media channels to broadcast women’s soccer to encourage more women to participate in football. TFF and ZFF implement the women’s football development strategy to promote more women and girls’ involvement in sports.

At the Club Level- Review Internal Policies to cover issues of GBV. The football clubs should review their internal policies to cover issues of GBV. The study indicated that some women’s football clubs use male clubs’ policies which specifically don’t cover the issues around GBV.

Promote Women Leadership Within Women Football Clubs; The study also found that the clubs with more women leaders ie management have less chance of facing GBV than clubs that have male ie management. This includes the coaches and Other working Staff

Capacitate Women Footballers to Understand their Rights; Most women football is working part-time or in entertainment but not as a career. The clubs should have the duty to capacitate women in football to demand contracts and take football as a career.

Promote Behavior and Ethics for women Footballers; The study indicated that most parents/guardians refuse to allow their girl children and/or female siblings to participate in football because once they join, they change behaviours and act like men. The clubs have a responsibility to promote good behaviour among women who are participating in football.

 

 

Non-Governmental Organizations on and Other Private Sectors- The Government, BMT, TFF, ZFF, Media, NGOs, and other stakeholders should start a campaign to mobilize women and women and girls’ participation in sports for both rural and urban special programs for identifying football talents among girls/women.

The Government, BMT, TFF, ZFF, Media, NGOs, and other stakeholders should sensitize the public to stop the stigmatization of women footballers and emphasize the importance of women’s participation in football and other games.

Timu za wanawake za simba an yanga zikichuana vikali uwanjani

Capacity building to Sports journalists and/or analysts to take interest in working with and reporting news relating to women’s football.

More efforts should be done to sensitize women footballers to remain feminine despite their role as footballers.

Stakeholders in collaboration with the government should capacitate women footballers in clubs that cannot pay salaries on financial literacy which will help them to make extra incomes, to complement their subsistence.