Youth perceptions of violence against women through a sexist chant in the football stadium: an exploratory analysis

Abstract

Gender-based violence and violence against women (VAW) refers to any violation of fundamental rights. However, some forms of VAW are viewed as unproblematic, acceptable and deserved. Taking into account that sexist chants in football stadiums reinforce VAW, the purpose of the study is to determine how a group of adolescents can normalize or challenge an example of sexist chants. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted and the participants were asked to discuss to what extent the actions could be considered as gender-based violence. Most of the youth were highly unconscious of the sexist nature of the video and only a few recognized it as gender-based violence. Such awareness is essential in order to recognize the discrimination and prejudices, but especially, characteristic of VAW in football stadiums. Therefore, the implementation of a new pedagogy in order to reduce VAW in and outside the school is absolutely mandatory.

Notes

1. United Nations, Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

2. United Nations, Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women.

3. United Nations, General Recommendation No. 19: Violence against Women.

4. Dardis et al., ‘Perceptions of Dating Violence and Associated Correlates’.

5. Capezza and Arriaga, ‘Factors Associated with Acceptance of Psychological Aggression Against Women’; Carlson and Worden, ‘Attitudes and Beliefs about Domestic Violence’.

6. Gracia and Tomás, ‘Correlates of Victim-blaming Attitudes Regarding Partner Violence Against Women among the Spanish General Population’.

7. Gracia and Herrero, ‘Public Attitudes Toward Reporting Partner Violence Against Women and Reporting Behaviour’; Valor-Segura, Expósito and Moya, ‘Victim Blaming and Exoneration of the Perpetrator in Domestic Violence: The Role of Beliefs in a Just World and Ambivalent Sexism’.

8. Nayak et al., ‘Attitudes Toward Violence Against Women: A Cross-Nation study’.

9. Bryan and Spencer, ‘University Students’ Attitudes about Attributing Blame in Domestic Violence’.

10. Valor-Segura, Expósito and Moya, ‘Victim blaming and exoneration of the perpetrator in domestic violence: The role of beliefs in a just world and ambivalent sexism’.

11. Gracia and Tomás, ‘Correlates of victim-blaming attitudes regarding partner violence against women among the Spanish general population’.

12. Heise and Garcia-Moreno, ‘Violence by Intimate Partners’.

13. Bowen et al., ‘Northern European Adolescent Attitudes Toward Dating Violence’.

14. Toffoletti, ‘How is Gender-based Violence Covered in the Sporting News? An Account of the Australian Football League Sex Scandal’; Waterhouse-Watson, ‘(Un) Reasonable Doubt: A’ Narrative Immunity’ for Footballers Against Sexual Assault Allegations’.

15. Nurka, ‘Shame and Disgrace in Australian Football Culture: Rape Claims and Public Affect’.

16. Greendorfer and Yiannakis, Sociology of Sport: Diverse Perspectives.

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20. Pfister, Lenneis, and Mintert, ‘Female Fans of Men’s Football–a Case Study in Denmark’.

21. Llopis-Goig, ‘Learning, and Representation: The Construction of Masculinity in Football. An Analysis of the Situation in Spain’.

22. Jones, ‘Female Fandom: Identity, Sexism, and Men's Professional Football in England’.

23. Chiweshe, ‘One of the Boys: Female Fans’ Responses to the Masculine and Phallocentric Nature of Football Stadiums in Zimbabwe’.

24. See note 23 above.

25. Gimeno, Saenz, Ariño, and Aznar, ‘Deportividad y violencia en el fútbol base: un programa de evaluación y de prevención de partidos de riesgo’.

26. Skelton, ‘“A Passion for Football”: Dominant Masculinities and Primary Schooling’.

27. See note 22 above.

28. Wolfe et al., ‘A School-based Program to Prevent Adolescent Dating Violence: A Cluster Randomized Trial’.

29. Ferrer-Pérez and Bosch-Fiol, ‘Gender Violence as a Social Problem in Spain: Attitudes and Acceptability’.

30. Ibid.

31. Pease and Flood, ‘Rethinking the Significance of Attitudes in Preventing Men’s Violence Against Women’.

32. Spain, Ley 19/2007, de 11 de julio, contra la violencia, el racismo, la xenofobia y la intolerancia en el deporte; Spain, Ley Orgánica 1/2004, de 28 de diciembre, de Medidas de Protección Integral contra la Violencia de Género; Spain. Real Decreto 203/2010, de 26 de febrero, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento de prevención de la violencia, el racismo, la xenofobia y la intolerancia en el deporte.

33. Centro Reina Sofia, Jóvenes y género. El estado de la cuestión.

34. Spain, Ley Orgánica 2/2006, de 3 de mayo, de Educación.

35. Spain, Plan Estratégico de Igualdad de Oportunidades entre Mujeres y Hombres 2008–2011.

36. Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Estadística de Violencia Doméstica y Violencia de género Año 2014.

37. See note 33 above.

38. See note 18 above.

39. See note 5 above.

40. Temmerman, ‘Research Priorities to Address Violence Against Women and Girls’.

41. See note 32 above.

42. Llopis-Goig, ‘The Predominance of Soccer in the Sport and Leisure Habits of Spanish Society’.

43. See note 29 above.

44. United Nations, Report of the Expert Group Meeting on Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls.

45. Ibid.

46. Morrison, Ellsberg and Bott, ‘Addressing Gender-based Violence: A Critical Review of Interventions’.

47. See note 29 above.

48. See note 22 above.

49. See note 23 above.

50. See note 23 above.

51. Ibid.

52. Ibid.

53. See note 7 above.

54. See note 13 above.

55. Hernández et al., ‘Youth Perspectives on the Intersections of Violence, Gender, and hIp-hop’.

56. See note 33 above.

57. See note 13 above.

58. See note 10 above.

59. Fundación ANAR, Informe violencia de género 2014. Teléfono ANAR.

60. European Union Agency for fundamental Rights, Violence against women: an EU-wide survey.

61. World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report.

62. See note 13 above.

63. World Health Organization, Preventing Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Against Women.

64. See note 29 above.

65. See note 6 above; See note 7 above.

66. See note 14 above.

67. See note 13 above.

68. Burgess, Edwards and Skinner, ‘Football Culture in an Australian School Setting: The Construction of Masculine Identity’.

69. See note 26 above.

70. Ibid.

71. Forbes, Edwards and Fleming, ‘‘Women can’t Referee’: Exploring the Experiences of Female Football Officials within UK Football Culture’.