A “round table on gender equality in sports refereeing” was held at the Council of Europe on Friday 8 March to mark International Women’s Day.
Experts from several Member States took stock of the initiatives put in place to combat discrimination against women referees and discussed the measures that still need to be taken.
“The work being done at the Council of Europe is important”, says Charlotte Girard Fabre, Secretary General of the International Federation for Sports Officials (IFSO) and Chair of the Consultative Committee of the “Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport” (EPAS) launched in 2015 by the Strasbourg-based organisation.
“The data collected has forced the Member States to ask themselves some questions, and over the last 2 years this has led to some major changes. Referees are now taken into account, whereas previously - except in France through the Association française du corps arbitral multisport (AFCAM) - the issue of gender equality in sport only included athletes and coaches.
On this point, Charlotte Girard Fabre highlights the joint European Union/Council of Europe Sports Division project called ‘Tous.tes ensemble’, designed to promote greater gender equality in sport.
Launched in March 2023, it will continue until March 2025 in order to refine the data indicators and expand the number of 17 participating countries.
It addresses the issue of women’s representation in sport, gender-based violence and ways of combating it, based on the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on combating violence against women, while continuing to take into account the refereeing dimension.
“I only have to look at my diary to see that more and more institutions are including referees in their discussions”, says Charlotte Girard Fabre, before adding: “except for the International Olympic Committee (IOC)”.
She says she has no regrets about the cost of her commitment to gender equality in refereeing.
“The picture is still not very rosy”, she concludes. “We have to keep up the fight, because I’m convinced that giving a little girl a whistle is also teaching her to say ‘no’, to say ‘stop’ and to find her place in society”.
Link to event: https://aeur.eu/f/b8f (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)