NextGenMen: Transforming gender inequalities through sport

Context

Despite existing legislation, gender inequality, abuse of women and certain sexist attitudes remain major challenges in South Africa (Abrahams et al. 2013, Nduna & Nene 2014).  According to crime statistics (National Police, 2021) 902 women were murdered between September and October 2021, with 232 of these murders directly related to domestic violence. In the same period, 11,315 cases of rape were reported, which corresponds to an average of 123 cases per day. Although there has been a 9% decrease in sexual offences, the statistics often do not reflect the real situation as these cases are under-reported.

A number of studies highlight the role of sport in changing the perception of women and the social relationships between men and women (Das et al, 2015 p62, Instituto Promundo, et al., 2012). This theory is supported by a programme implemented by SOKH, where 67% of participants challenged their belief that women cannot play a male-dominated sport such as rugby. Based on this experience, SOKH intends to set up a project to combat gender inequality and violence through sport.    

 Goals

• Improve perceptions around gender in the community
• Raising awareness of women’s rights, abusive and disrespectful behaviour
• Promote gender equitable and non-violent attitudes
• Share evidence, findings and programme with other youth organisations to enable wider reach of the project
• Facilitate access and participation in sport for women

Activities

• Gender-based life skills sessions
• Installation of sanitary napkin vending machines
• Capacity building for coaches on gender equality in training sessions

Impact/expected results

• Participants will experience improvements in their mental, physical and emotional well-being
• Nearly 240 adolescents will support gender equity and non-violent attitudes
• 8 coaches will demonstrate emotional intelligence and empathy with participants and be better informed on gender issues
• Girls will be less exposed to menstrual insecurity

Photo credit: School of Hard Knocks