Men's football news
Written by: Jack
Even in a year which saw remarkable progress for women’s football, our sport remains a bastion of male power and privilege. At Lewes FC we are committed to changing these perceptions and using the footballing space to stand up to discrimination on and off the pitch.
Just over a year ago we launched our #CallHimOut campaign aimed at kicking sexism and misogyny out of society. The fight is not over, and so during Sexual Violence Awareness week we are collaborating with one of our Sisterships, The Survivors Network, to re-launch #CallHimOut.
Survivors Network are a Sussex-based charity that supports survivors of sexual abuse and violence 1.. As part of this campaign, we will have male staff members and players, encouraged to take part in Survivors Network Bystander Training.
The culture which encourages violence against women and girls starts with societal misogyny and the Bystander Training has allows us all to learn how to challenge sexist language and behaviours in a safe and productive way.
Our campaign has evolved and as part of reaffirming our pledge to #CallHimOut, we want to go further this year and encourage people to #CallHimIn too.
‘Calling him in’ is an action which exists to start discussions and create awareness about the damage of certain language and/or actions. As a club we want to not only call out this kind of behaviour but also encourage important conversations that can help stamp out violence against women in football and beyond.
We are very lucky to have a fantastic group of players in our men’s team that all want to participate in this campaign.
When any member of the Lewes FC team or senior management hears or sees something done by a colleague, family, friend or passer-by that is disrespectful, sexist or harmful in any way to a woman, whether she’s there or not, we are pledging to speak to that man, #CallHimOut and start a productive conversation about why their behaviours or actions are damaging.
Football has a huge influence on our society, and we are committed to using our platform to take a stand against sexism and misogyny – Join the team and make your pledge today.
- If any of the topics in this article have affected you or you would like to find out more about what Survivor’s Network do and how they support survivors of sexual violence across Sussex please visit their website, follow their Instagram or sign up for their newsletter. Their bystander intervention training webinar is available free online until the 15th of February, sign up today. Bystander Intervention Webinar (thinkific.com)