Four in 10 women have been harassed or felt threatened in sports or exercise, survey reveals

Ruhama CEO Barbara Condon, GAA president Jarlath Burns, GAA community and health manager Colin Regan, White Ribbon Ireland's Sean Cooke, Cuan CEO Stephanie O'Keeffe, Camogie Association president Brian Molloy, LGFA national development manager Lynn Savage, and DCU club players launch the 'Game Changer' initiative in Croke Park in November 2024. Now in its second phase, the initiative has published a survey which found that more than a quarter of women between 18 and 34 years old have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. Picture: Julien Behal

Just over 40% of women aged between 18 and 34 years old have experienced either sexual harassment, unsolicited sexual remarks, or felt a threat of gender-based intimidation or violence when taking part in sports or exercise, according to a survey published on Monday.

The survey — published as part of the Game Changer initiative run by the GAA, Ruhama, and White Ribbon Ireland — also found that more than a quarter of women between 18 and 34 years old have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. 31% of women in the same age group have been stalked or followed.

The findings are from a Red C survey of men and women in the Republic of Ireland, published to mark the launch of the second phase of the Game Changer initiative.

The three-year initiative was launched last November in Croke Park as a result of conversations within the GAA following the murder of Offaly woman Ashling Murphy in 2022.

The aim of the project is to harness the influence of the GAA in Irish society to tackle the problem of domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence. Also among the findings were that:

• 45% of women who train regularly take a wide variety of precautions, such as not exercising at night (17%), keeping their phone to hand (15%), not exercising alone (9%), and covering up in regard to what they wear (5%), with a smaller number (4%) reporting that they bring along something that could be used a weapon;
• 77% of 18- to 34-year-old women in Ireland have experienced being "cat called" in the street;
• 70% have been unwantedly stared or looked at in a sexually suggestive way by a stranger;
• 30% of 18- to 34-year-old men regard "cat calling" as harmful, compared with 59% of women in the same age group;
• 60% of men in the same age profile regard being sent unsolicited sexual images as harmful, compared with 81% of women in the same category;
• 68% of young men regard being subject to unwanted sexual gestures or comments as harmful, compared with 85% women in the same age group.

'Unacceptable behaviour'

The chief executive of Ruhama, Barbara Condon, said that violence against women is not just an issue for women.

“It is a societal one which requires collective ownership and we really want male leaders and male voices to work in this space and call out the unacceptable behaviour,” she said.

If you tolerate misogynistic jokes, or dismiss harmful behaviours, or turn a blind eye to abuse, you are then complicit

"What we really want is men to stand up and beside women and become champions in this space.” 

The next phase of the Game Changer initiative is the roll out of a suite of e-learning content for players, coaches, and officers. A public awareness-raising campaign will also form part of this phase.

Ms Condon said: “What we hope for from this project is that this will make a significant impact on safety for women, and we would be hoping that other sporting organisations would take similar stands as well.” 

She said that education is very important against a backdrop of social media pressures and the popularity of pornography.

She added: “A lot of young people think it [pornography] is fantasy, and don’t realise that there is someone real behind it.”