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Kick sexism out of football, says WiF

by Our Sports Desk

MORE must be done to stamp sexual discrimination out of the beautiful game, network Women in Football (WiF) said yesterday as it unveiled its first end of season report into sexism.

The group logged 55 incidents regarding sexism — 23 of them match-day incidents, 22 abuse on social media and 10 relating to workplace sexism.

But WiF warned that the true figure was likely much higher as women were used to suffering “sexist abuse, harassment and discrimination in silence.”

WiF’s 2014 survey found that 66 per cent of women working in football had witnessed sexism in the workplace but 89 per cent did not report it.

“With WiF only receiving 10 incidents relating to workplace sexism this season, the statistics highlight just how much work there is still to do in encouraging and supporting women to come forward when they encounter discrimination,” said the campaign.

WiF has passed on reports to the relevant authorities, with investigations resulting in one formal charge levelled by a county FA on a non-league club, one employee being removed from their post and ongoing probes of two cases by the police.

“While Women in Football welcomes the support of the football authorities in tackling the issues therein, we now need to push on to eradicate sexism from the game and make football an industry in which women of all backgrounds can fulfil their potential, free from discrimination,” said a spokesperson.

Incidents of sexist abuse or discrimination can be made public using the #ShameOnTheGame hashtag or reported anonymously to info@womeninfootball.co.uk.

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