Brussels, 04/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - At the conference on gender equality in sport organised in Vilnius on 3-4 December, the European Commission called on sport bodies to take concrete measures to put an end to the discrimination against women, which persists both in amateur and professional sport. For its part, the Commission promises to support any cross-border proposal to promote gender equality in sport - as part of the sport section of the new Erasmus + programme, which now has a budget of €265 million for the next seven years to back actions in the sport sector. “We don't need another declaration, we need action. We have to ensure that women can practise sport in a safe environment and that there are more opportunities for the voice of women to be heard in sport governing bodies”, said the European commissioner responsible for sport, Androulla Vassiliou.
The Commission criticises discrimination against women in sport, especially as regards women's pay (which remains below that of men), sexual harassment, and the availability of key posts in sport bodies and in sport media. On behalf of the Commission, Vassiliou called on representatives from European, international and national sport organisations (the IOC, IPC and UEFA), and also on senior advisers from national governments and members of the European Institute for Gender Equality, for the adoption of a coherent set of measures - coordinated at European level, which should include training to guarantee equal opportunities in sport and a coaching environment free from discrimination and harassment. The conference also stressed the capacity of sport to promote gender equality more generally, the need to address frequent use of over-sexualised images in sport and the media, and good practice in preventing sexual harassment in a sport context. (IL/transl.fl)