Georgia Rugby Union backing the empowerment of women and girls in sport
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The empowerment of women and girls in and through sport, as well as reducing existing barriers, is still clearly a pressing issue. To tackle this problem a number of interesting initiatives have been launched around the world, and it is notable that these discussions have also started in Georgia.
On 6 October, the Georgia Rugby Union with the support of UN Women conducted a meeting regarding the empowerment of women and girls via sport. The event was held within the framework of the Rugby Europe U18 Championship 2022, and it was attended by representatives and participants from the Championship, the Public Defender’s Office, and from sports federations, youth organizations and the non-governmental sector.
During the meeting, the discussions touched upon such issues as the existing barriers women and girls face in sport and how to reduce them, as well as how to enhance awareness of sexual and gender-based violence among representatives in this sphere. The Georgia Rugby Union also made an official statement during the event informing the audience of a crucial new initiative — the introduction of a mechanism to prevent and eradicate sexual harassment in the federation.
“No aspect of this issue shall remain unattended,” remarked Tornike Gogebashvili, CEO of the Georgia Rugby Union. “The administration of the Georgia Rugby Union holds an incisive and adamant position in this regard and hopes that the upstanding functioning of the system will attract more women to rugby; such an approach will empower all of us — the Union, women and Georgian sport in general.”
A survey on sexual harassment and violence towards women in sport, conducted by the Partnership for Human Rights, identifies that sexual harassment is still widespread, even in the Georgian reality. It is noteworthy that several women have had to quit their sports careers due to the violent environment.
“Despite the fact that there have been a number of cases detected, sport is not yet regarded as one of the sectors where women are being discriminated against or experiencing sexual harassment,” explained Ana Arganashvili, executive director of the Partnership for Human Rights, who also discussed issues of violence and sexual harassment towards women during the meeting. “The initiative by the Georgia Rugby Union, with the implementation of an internal mechanism to appeal against cases of sexual harassment, is of great importance. In general, if other federations and clubs choose to follow suit and introduce such mechanisms, women will not have to start legal proceedings, and the coaches will have a better understanding of unacceptable behaviour.”
This event was part of the standing partnership between the Georgia Rugby Union and UN Women, and carried out within the scope of the UN Joint Programme for Gender Equality in Georgia with the support of Swedish Government.