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Yesterday, professional footballer for Airdrieonians FC, Salim Kouider-Äissa was found guilty of sexual assault. Whilst this sadly showcases another example of sexual violence in professional sport, it also horribly exemplifies yet another severe mismanagement of the situation by the professional club involved. Firstly, we vehemently condemn any form of sexual misconduct and specifically highlight the sexual entitlement shown through the expectation that Kouider-Äissa could do what he liked WITHOUT clear consent. Our thoughts are with the victim of this horrible assault. Secondly, as his victim bravely sat in Court giving her evidence in, what quite possibly was, one of the most difficult and retraumatising experiences she will go through, Kouider-Äissa got ready to dress and represent his team in front of many fans. We cannot imagine the impact this would have had on her and her family. The current silence on the matter from Airdrie FC speaks volumes and we await a statement prior to kick off today before we comment further.

It is time for professional organisations to accept their role in ending sexual misconduct in sport Dear all professional sports clubs in Scotland, Twice last year it was made clear that Scottish sports fans do not and will not welcome perpetrators of sexual violence and sadly, it has been left up to them to make their voices heard to have the professional sports clubs correct some misguided decisions. Whilst it shows how amazingly supportive Scottish sports fans are, it should not be up to them to prevent the enabling of sexual misconduct in sport. Whilst events like what we witnessed in 2022 can have an impact financially and reputationally for the clubs, the impact remains most on the fans and onlookers who are survivors of rape and sexual abuse who are often retraumatised by these events. However, this issue is not about tackling single instances of sexual misconduct or about individual people being held to account; it is about tackling a culture that perpetuates sexual violence through silent complicity and even at times overlooking serious transgressions in favour of skill. It is necessary to begin to change a culture that influences all areas of sport; from the treatment of their female counterparts to the role model young boys aspire to be in school, there is a deep-rooted influence that sport holds over our society. Now is the time for the clubs to follow the example set by fan bases across Scotland and stand up against sexual misconduct in sport. This means organisations and clubs need to begin changing their culture and recognising that education and open discussion is a key prevention tool in the fight to eradicate men’s violence against women. We want to encourage Scottish sports clubs to play their part. No one should experience sexual harassment or sexual violence therefore we are calling on all Professional sports clubs in Scotland to: Pledge to input a Sexual Misconduct Policy by the end of 2023; As part of this policy, introduce mandatory training for all players, managers, coaches, owners and staff on the prevention of sexual misconduct including the topic of consent; This policy shall also create clear protocols on how to handle complaints of sexual misconduct and guidance on the appropriate consequences and disciplinary action on players; Create clear channels to report both external and internal reports of sexual misconduct and liaise with local organisations that specialise in this area to apply clear policies for responding to allegations (whilst also recognising that players themselves may experience misconduct) and provide access to confidential support for internal reporters. It is time for organisations and clubs to take sexual misconduct and other forms of gender-based violence, such as domestic abuse, seriously and foster behaviours within that call out microaggressions such as ‘locker-room banter’ and sexist or misogynistic attitudes. Players of sport are often viewed as highly influential figures that many aspire to be, and clubs have a notable position to influence change of a culture that currently puts so many women and girls at risk. We need professional sports clubs to stand up, use their influence and significantly challenge sexual misconduct in sport. Please email info@endsexualmisconductinsport.com to arrange a meeting to discuss how you can help to End Sexual Misconduct in Sport and to register your PLEDGE to input a Sexual Misconduct Policy by the end of 2023. Yours sincerely, End Sexual Misconduct in Sport #GameOver4SexualMisconduct White Ribbon Scotland Scottish Women in Sport Kyniska Advocacy

It has been 6 months since Glasgow Clan made a signing that would be the hallmark of their so far unsuccessful 2022-23 season. Since then they have refused to listen to the pain and anger they caused. Miss J recounts her reaction to that signing. On Thursday 29th September 2022, I was sitting at dinner with a group of people I met at  University and suddenly my phone began going crazy. I checked the notifications, opened twitter and saw the backlash to the Glasgow Clan announcing Lasse Uusivirta. I won’t go into the details of that signing or the player in question’s history as, if you are not familiar with the facts, a quick google search will provide an overview. The feelings that came from this signing were reminiscent of how I felt when Raith Rovers signed David Goodwillie. Furious. Bewildered. Disgusted. However, this time there was also disappointment and violation. Ice Hockey is a safe place for people, many of whom are survivors of sexual violence and they had welcome someone accused of such an heinous act into our home. In this awful moment, the overwhelming condemnation that came from the Purple Army was remarkable and acted as the only blanket of reassurance that sexual violence is not accepted in our sport. The decision to sign this player was unacceptable, the video minimising the allegations was unacceptable, but the response from the organisation in the aftermath goes so far beyond unacceptable. There has been no accountability, no attempt to make reparations and no open communication on how the organisation intends to ensure this never happens again. What the club don’t seem to understand is that their actions (and then lack of) has serious implications for many people. My memory of Friday 30th September to Tuesday 3rd October is a dark blur. I know I went to work on the Friday and Monday, but for those few days I felt like a walking shell. I was retraumatised. I have spent many years working on my trauma, however, for very valid reasons, this situation struck many chords and whilst I felt for the most part in control, I was struggling. From the outside I looked tired and to be fair I was; I did not sleep over those few days for longer than a few hours. I began having nightmares about my trauma, again and found myself endlessly searching the internet for information on this signing. Eventually I called the Crisis Hotline at Glasgow Clyde Rape Crisis and vented some of my anger and grief. I still found myself way outside my window of tolerance and extremely emotional. Anger. Disgust. Sadness. The moment my head began to clear was when I raised my voice saying the words “I was raped” for the first time on a public platform. I shouldn’t have had to, but what came next were the messages from other survivors who had also been completely retraumatised. I am thankful I was able to give a voice to many people who had been harmed by this signing, but I shouldn’t have had to. The pain didn’t stop when I spoke up, but my mission became apparent; all professional sports teams in Scotland need to have a Sexual Misconduct Policy. At the moment of writing this, Glasgow Clan have still never addressed the harm they have caused by signing this player and have ignored all attempts from End Sexual Misconduct in Sport to reach out. It isn’t difficult; take accountability, educate yourself on the issue and make reparations. ----- If you need support you can find more information here: https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk

Rebekah Cheung is a survivor of sexual assault who's incredible work with men to tackle how they can play a part in ending men's violence against women is nothing short of inspirational. We thank Rebekah for sharing her story with us on International Women's Day to kick off the #GameOver4SexualMisconduct Campaign. This year will mark three years since I was raped by a professional sports player. I wanted to preface anything I wrote with the facts that I never took this to the police, simply because there was so little evidence, it was my word against his. I did, however, make an anonymous complaint to his sport club, but I was ignored. I understand that sexual misconduct is difficult to navigate for professional sports teams, however, the option to stay silent and hope that it goes away, is no longer an option. We initially met on a dating app, with him pursuing me to go on a date with him, which I agreed to. I should have clocked that it was a red flag that for the date, he had invited me over to his flat. However, I was so overcome with the idea that a professional sports player wanted to go on a date with someone like me. I even told friends and family that I was going on the date, with some of them even warning me that he would have other intentions, but he had been nothing but kind and respectful towards me, so I dismissed the idea that he was using me for sex. The date started off very harmless, but it didn’t take long for him to try and have sex with me. It’s important to note that four years previous to this, I experienced my first sexual assault, and since that point I had become confident in my ability to set my boundaries when it came to what I was and wasn’t willing to do when it came to sex. But he kept trying to push the subject, so I lied and said I couldn’t go any further because I wasn’t on birth control. When he kept insisting, I felt I was out of options, so I froze out of fear and just waited until it was over. After raping me he told me “you better not have given me anything”, as if I had any say in actually having sex with him. If anything, it demonstrated the level of his inflated ego and entitlement that comes hand-in-hand with male professional sport players. Not only had he had sex with me without my consent, now it would be my fault if he had to face the consequences of his decision for unprotected sex. Like after my very first assault, I knew after it happened that something bad had happened, but it took me a week to realise that I was raped again. In addition, we had just officially gone into lockdown, and when I had realised that I needed to get specific help, services were already incredibly limited. I had also missed the window for collecting evidence of the assault, but I knew that stood for every little in the court of law, he would just say that I had consented. As angry as I am with him, the problem exists beyond the professional sport players. There’s a reason why my experience isn’t unique – they exist within an environment that enables this behaviour. It becomes unimportant if such behaviour is due to male sexual entitlement, or because they think they carry some level of fame, it wouldn’t happen if clubs were willing to take more of a stand when they’re informed of such behaviour. I know it is not as black and white as suspending players after hearing one allegation – but they can’t ignore it in the hope that they never have to deal with it. That’s why the Game Over 4 Sexual Assault is so important – it means survivors will know that there is some support for if they do come forward, with a robust procedure that won’t seek to strip them even further of their control. It also means that survivors in similar situations are not retriggered when different allegations arise. I cannot emphasises enough now that sports clubs need to be proactive when it comes to sexual misconduct, because a reactive approach will result in repeated incidents, repeated allegations and a huge lack of confidence and support in sports and their teams.