Faye Hackwell
Writer, Her Game Too
Combatting sexism in sport, a campaign empowers victims to report abuse and partners with clubs to tackle misogyny, promoting a safer environment for women in football.
Sexist chanting, the abuse of female referees and physiotherapists and unwelcomed physical contact are all common themes in the matchday reports received by Her Game Too.
Support to tackle sexism and misogyny
Launched in 2021 by a group of female football fans to help tackle sexism and misogyny in sport, Her Game Too has grown to involve more than 120 volunteers and partners with 73 of the 92 Premier League and English Football League clubs.
Partner clubs promote the campaign’s reporting line, which enables anyone who has witnessed or been subjected to an incident of sexism to report it. The volunteers work with clubs, leagues, police and partner organisations to deal with it.
Women shouldn’t be deterred
from doing the job they love.
Abuse towards women in sport
Issy Anderson reported the abuse she received while working as a sports rehabilitator in football and now volunteers with the campaign. “Pretty much every game I’ve done, I’ve had something shouted at me from the stands, and it’s never very nice,” she says. “I’ve learned that even if I’ve been dealing with something near the away end, I’ll walk back the long way round, past the home fans, to avoid abuse. I shouldn’t have to think about that during a match when my main focus is the players.”
Anderson’s club, Shrewton United, recently had to remove a social media post announcing her appointment after it reached 1.2 million impressions and attracted hundreds of offensive comments relating to her looks and gender.
“After what happened with the Shrewton United post, I thought ‘I could be working in a clinic or any other sport, and I wouldn’t be getting this sort of abuse, so why should I carry on with football?’,” she says. “But women shouldn’t be deterred from doing the job they love — and we want women to be working in this environment, showing they canwork in that environment.”
Educational training on discrimination
Anderson isn’t alone in her experiences. A year ago, Gillingham Football Club became the first English Football League club to temporarily ban two fans for misogynist chanting about a female physiotherapist. The supporters were required to complete educational training about discrimination provided by Her Game Too through Kick It Out before attending fixtures again.
The work extends beyond the reporting line to also champion women in all roles in sport, with sub-campaigns dedicated to cricket, ice hockey and rugby. Each season, dozens of sports clubs dedicate awareness-raising fixtures to the campaign around International Women’s Day in March.
To find out more, visit www.hergametoo.co.uk or follow Her Game Too on X, Facebook and Instagram.
