ENGSO EWS at UNESCO’s Policy Roundtable "Towards a Safer Playing Field - Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls in Sport"
ENGSO EWS Committee member Sarah Townsend participated in the UNESCO Policy Roundtable "Towards a Safer Playing Field - Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls in Sport" which took place on 5 April 2024, in Paris, France.
The event, which discussed concrete ways to develop survivor-centred policies, processes and programmes, was a follow up on from the publication of the UNESCO and UN Women’s Handbook on Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls in Sport, aimed at equipping policy-makers and practitioners with strategies and resources to tackle gender-based violence effectively, and ahead of future actions planned to take place in the context of the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer.
The event was opened and moderated by Benny Bonsu, Director of Daily Content at Olympic Channel Services and followed by a welcome from Gabriel Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO with a keynote speech from Elisabeth Moreno, former Minister Delegate for Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities in France.
Presented as a call to action, and following testimonials from athletes Emma Oudio and Lisa Zimouche, speakers made a case for why this is “The Time for Change” and panel discussions focused on priority actions for a safer playing field, with discussions on how to design and implement effective safeguarding strategies, how to close the measurement and knowledge gap around GBV in sport and how to communicate and advocate to change mentalities.
