Thursday 28 March 2024

Women’s organisations ask for solidarity from men

The Malta Confederation of Women’s Organisations (MCWO) in close consultation with the Women’s Study Group finds the idea of offering a football contract to a well-known convicted rapist, Ched Evans as problematic. This gives a very bad impression of the particular football club and of Maltese football in general. 
Women in Malta rightly expect the solidarity of ALL Maltese males to publicly demonstrate their abhorrence to all forms of violence against women at both the institutional and the individual level. The decision to offer a football contract to a convicted rapist seriously erodes this trust.
Football is a very important public sport and footballers nowadays hold a high public profile.  Football is a sport in which many boys and young men are socialised into various types of masculinities.  One would hope that the world of sport, including football, should be a place where boys and men can learn other, non-violent, non-sexualised, and non-misogynist ways of being men. It is a world where girls and women also participate as players and spectators and hence they should feel safe in the knowledge that the boys and men around them do not condone rape.
Football clubs should reconsider what messages such decisions give about sexual violence and sexual consent.   If football gives all types of cards for fouls for violence during the game, why does it not give a red card to rape? 
Lorraine Spiteri, Chairperson of MCWO said, “We urge football clubs to dissociate themselves from the offence of rape and choose only footballers who perform commendably and admirably not only on the pitch but also in their private lives.
Evans’ crime is not a minor crime. He has been convicted and has not shown any signs of concern for his victim. We are all out for integration of criminals after they do their time but in this case, giving Evans back his high profile as a footballer is very damaging. There are other ways for him to earn a decent living without causing more harm than he has already in society. The second chance Mr Evans seeks cannot be sought in the world of sport which should have zero tolerance for sexual violence, racism and others types of crimes against the person.”
The Confederation is an umbrella organisation that represents 12 local member organisations which collectively have 24,000 female members. The MCWO is a full member of the Brussels based European Women’s Lobby.

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