by Genevieve Henry in Sydney (19/8/23)
Above: From left to right: Craig Foster, Kate Gill, and Minky Worden take part in the event on Thursday. Photo provided to Impetus by: UNSW Australian Human Rights Institute.
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) Australian Human Rights Institute, alongside international nonprofit Human Rights Watch hosted an event regarding human rights and sports, specifically the Women’s World Cup, on Thursday night. This event was held on Bedegal land.
Around 70 attendees were treated to a panel of human rights advocate and author, Minky Worden, former Socceroos captain and activist, Craig Foster, and former Matildas captain Kate Gill, the joint chief executive of Professional Footballers Australia (PFA).
With this momentous sporting event capturing the hearts and livelihoods of the Australian public, it is important to remember the conditions not only surrounding Australia but each and every nation and their women and girls in sport. Although funding and resources have undoubtedly improved in the past few years, far too many women experience injustice and abuse in what should be a professional environment.
The Matildas have made remarkable strides in achieving equity with the Socceroos, having equal pay, resources, and treatment. However, this was not simply handed to them. The Matildas had to strike to get this support. The US Women’s National Team had to go through scrutinisation and lawsuits to achieve equal pay.
Players from nations such as Norway, Spain, and Canada have had to risk everything for the hope of fair treatment. But, even if individual teams can fight for their own equality, FIFA will only award the women a quarter of what the men earn for the World Cup, for the same achievement. There needs to be change on a larger scale.
But, the situation is far worse in some developing countries. The Jamaican women’s national team, known as the Reggae Girlz, had to start a GoFundMe to afford their trip to Australia. The South African team, Banyana Banyana, refused to play in their final lead-up match to the World Cup. Nigeria’s coach, Randy Waldrum, has had to openly criticise his federation for pocketing the money his players should have been receiving. And this isn’t even touching on the abuse that many female athletes receive.
One in three women has experienced physical or sexual abuse in their lifetime, according to a 2018 survey from the World Health Organisation. That is approximately 736 million people. The problem worsens when one looks at athletes. Twenty out of 211 national football federations have active complaints from the players about sexual abuse.
Far too many women and girls have been abused in a sporting environment. It is baked into the culture. The head coach of the Zambian Women’s National Team has had repeated complaints about him from players. But nothing has been done. The former Haitian coach would frequently assault and abuse his players. Players shared that there were many witnesses, but none said a word. Most players don’t even report misconduct, for fear of jeopardizing their spot on the team.
Kate Gill and the PFA are working on fixing the system, but when there is little to no infrastructure to assist players in dealing with abuse, it’s an uphill battle. “It’s an education process for [athletes], to be able to identify these behaviours that are inappropriate and to be able to assist others that have been exposed to these behaviours.” Gill spoke of how useful unions are in securing the rights players deserve, saying that, “collective bargaining has played a huge role in getting the Matildas to where they are”.
Women deserve a professional environment, with proper equipment, fair resources, and professional treatment. Without these, female athletes are not safe. It is strongly felt that FIFA is not doing enough to protect them and their human right to participate in sport.
One of the key themes raised was the feeling that FIFA does not put human rights first. As Craig Foster put it, “Sport is in a position where it doesn’t want to put any sponsors, host countries, stakeholders, or anyone else in a position of discomfort”. FIFA puts out statements that could be best described as vague about respect and unity.
Even in this World Cup, FIFA used first nations symbols and designs to promote the tournament. Every game included a welcome to country conducted by the appropriate first nations elders. The traditional owners of the lands that games were played on were recognised. But FIFA has yet to show sufficient evidence of supporting Aboriginal and Māori girls in sport.
Then there was the hosting of the men’s World Cup in Qatar. Migrant workers who were used as modern slaves to build the stadiums died in horrifying numbers. Indeed, according to figures provided by the Qatari government themselves, nearly 16,000 people lost their lives constructing these stadiums, with causes ranging from heat stress to accidents with equipment.
Foster discussed how even though the players and fans were speaking out and educated on the cause, nothing was changing. He said, “There is literally blood in the field. The field has actually been built on dead bodies.” Corporations need to comply with human rights framework in order for a difference to be made.
Among all of these topics discussed by the panel of experts, the common theme was that corporations and organisations need to fund sport in a more proactive way, assuring that the money they earn and spend goes towards issues that actually matter and the athletes that deserve that money.
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