More information
Description
The project aims at improving gender equality and helping fight gender-based violence in sports. The main activities include the following: a quick assessment of the situation through an online study that will be the foundation for the development of a strategic communication campaign and advocacy for new policies; development and dissemination of a Guide with Rules for Prevention and Fight against Gender-based Violence in Sports, coordinated and approved by the Ministry of Youth and Sports; training workshops for sports journalists (50 from across Bulgaria) and an information campaign aimed at athletes (5000), sports clubs (100+) and the general public (500.000). The partners will unite their efforts to reach different target groups including young people (over 80% of the active training young people), women from vulnerable groups (lesbian, bisexual, transgender women, the target group of Bilitis Foundation). The special events are expected to involve directly more than 500 people and the social media campaign can reach more than 50 000 users. In the long term, the project will improve self-regulation of sports organizations to prevent discrimination and hate speech based on gender stereotypes, raise intolerance of people training sports, professional athletes and other stakeholders towards gender-based violence in sports.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to identify what proportion of Bulgarian athletes had been victims and/or witnesses of gender-based violence and to create a framework to tackle the problem and prevent gender-based violence in sport. The aim was achieved through trainings of coaches, the presentation of a handbook of rules and guidelines developed within the project, and training of sports journalists on the topic of hate speech in sport. In addition, an information campaign was conducted on social networks, which gave visibility to the issue and led to greater awareness of the topic among the general public.
The project was implemented with the participation of athletes; representatives of sports organizations and sports journalists; relevant institutions such as the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Sports Academy "Vasil Levski" and sports schools. A survey of 200 Bulgarian athletes was conducted, highlighting their experiences of gender-based violence in sport, after which the results were analysed and used as the basis for the creation of a "Handbook for improving the prevention and combating of violence in sport". The manual was distributed on social networks, published on the websites of the participating organizations and the project itself, and presented during the trainings of coaches and representatives of sports organizations in Ruse, Vidin, Varna, Burgas, Sofia, and Plovdiv. This was followed by a social media campaign that engaged the general public with the problems that Bulgarian athletes face as different forms of gender-based violence, and the two partner organisations also organised sporting events - a volleyball tournament and a dragon boat race on the Danube River. These events actively involved athletes and gave visibility to the problem and the solutions the project offers. Finally, a round table discussion was held with representatives of sports organisations, responsible institutions such as the MYS and NSA, sports schools and other stakeholders, summarising both the activities and results of the project and opportunities to build on strategies to tackle and prevent the problem in the future.
The project identified problems that directly affect Bulgarian athletes and coaches, as well as the public and responsible institutions, and proposed solutions through the Handbook, the trainings, the roundtable and the materials from the social media campaign, which would be useful for everyone who came into contact with them. 170 people were trained, representatives of sports organisations to whom the Handbook was presented, as well as 120 sports journalists; and the social media campaign reached over 1 million users. In addition, athletes and sports enthusiasts from Vidin region took part in the sports events - 300 people at the dragon boat race and 200 at the volleyball tournament in Sofia. 30 people participated in the round table.
The project partner - Bilitis Resource Center - organized a volleyball tournament, an additional initiative to the project to promote it among the general public. We also consider as added value the partner''s contribution with its communication channels, which we used to achieve the objectives of the project.
The project allowed our team to meet with institutions and organizations that are sympathetic to the problem of gender-based violence in sport, which allowed the creation of new partnerships, and during the Round Table were discussed opportunities to build on the results achieved within the project and ideas for future initiatives on the same and similar topics.