Sexism is on the rise in football. Here is what needs to change | Hollie Varney

Recent incidents on social media and further afield have highlighted how often women are isolated in football and continue to be threatened, questioned about their competencies and told they have no place to work in football. Which poses a question: does football really accept women?

Female pundits and commentators, as well as players and women working across the game, have faced consistent abuse for simply doing their jobs.

At Kick It Out we are seeing reports of sexism on a more regular basis than ever. Our reports show significant increases in social media abuse and a four-fold increase in sexist-related mass chanting. Reports of sexist mass chanting at games have quadrupled in the first half of this season.

A female colleague attended the recent Fulham v Burnley fixture, where Rebecca Welch became the first female referee in the Premier League. For a female football fan, seeing a trailblazer such as Welch should have been exciting. But, with the issues we handle at Kick It Out, it also prompted dread because we knew she wouldn’t be warmly accepted by all fans, regardless of her capabilities as a referee.

The media coverage for Welch’s debut was positive. But we received reports, backed up by my colleague who was there, showing that fans shouted sexist phrases and sang sexist chants towards Welch throughout the game. This abuse was carried out by men of various ages from teenagers through to those in their 60s and 70s. Would this be acceptable behaviour in any other workplace? No, it would not.

Then we move on to the abhorrent behaviour shown by some individuals working in football. A recent example is Danny Senda, the former Charlton assistant manager, who received a four-year ban for sexually assaulting two women while participating in a coaching course abroad. His ban was reduced from six years because of his early admission of wrongdoing. He did not face criminal proceedings but, in reality, he should be serving a prison sentence.

I can tell you from experience of attending coaching courses that they aren’t set up for women. All the FA tutors I’ve had have been men, who quite often have little or no experience of working with women or in women’s football. I’ve experienced outdated language; words such as “darling” and “sweetheart”, which might not be offensive to me but make you feel treated differently and a little patronised. One of women in the Senda case expressed “concern about the impact that reporting the incident might have on her future career prospects”, the written reasons on the case revealed. That shows how supported women feel in a male-dominated environment.

There have also been several sexual abuse and violence-against-women cases involving high-profile footballers over the years. Not many have resulted in convictions. What does this say to young girls aspiring to work in football, or women already working in the game, about their safety?

So, what needs to change?

We need a review of the safeguarding and whistleblowing policies and processes in place for women and girls involved in football. We need to know that those who receive a ban are appropriately rehabilitated back into the game, so they cannot return without showing remorse and a change in behaviour.

It is also imperative that those in positions of power – major broadcasters, football authorities and governing bodies – show a stronger voice when it comes to dealing with sexism and misogyny.

You can write all the equality, diversity and inclusion plans in the world, but what use is that unless backed up with action and shared outside your organisation? That to me is ticking boxes.

For reasons unstated, broadcasters seem reluctant to talk about recent issues affecting women, maybe afraid it will upset their audiences and affect profit margins. Football needs to show it truly is a game for all, instead of coming up with new campaign names that have no substance.

Finally, we need to stop accepting sexism and misogyny as some form of banter. It isn’t. It is discrimination and should be treated as such. We firmly believe misogyny should be classed as a hate crime, so that perpetrators receive the same sanctions and repercussions as they would for other hate crimes.

We should be able in this modern age to allow young girls and boys to have the same aspirations, whatever they are. A simple ambition, some might argue, that doesn’t feel like a reality.

Hollie Varney is the chief operating officer of the anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out

• Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.