EQUI-Champions
Promoting inclusion, gender equity and non-violent models of masculinities in sports environments
The EQUI-Champions Project investigates the impact of non-violent models of masculinity in sports environments, aiming, on one hand, to contribute to eliminating gender-based violence in sport by providing coaches and physical education teachers with innovative strategies that empower young people, addressing gender construction and promoting non-violent models of masculinity in school sport and sport environments; on the other hand, to bring to the EU a new approach to promote inclusion through sport of young people of different genders, ages and backgrounds in sports and promote healthy and gender inclusive environments. The project will advocate for increased focus on masculinities & involvement of boys and young men in GE and GBV prevention in sports, by promoting the mainstreaming of gender-synchronised and gender-based violence prevention methodologies into national training programmes for coaches and physical education teachers. The proposed methodology, which combines previously tested and successfully implemented methodologies from EQUI-X, Life Champions and Futbol Más programmes, will enable fe/male PE teachers/students and sports coaches to make their sports teaching & coaching approaches more gender equitable, to acknowledge and respond to gender prejudice and stereotyping, and raise awareness for the importance of gender equality amongst children and young people they work with.
Equi-Champions aims to achieve the following results:
- To provide 3 comprehensive national-based studies (CRO, ESP, POR) on youth's attitudes, behaviours and understandings about manhood, gender relations and the use of violence, and how these relate to the sports environment;
- To increase understanding of young people in the EU's attitudes, behaviours and understanding about manhood and how these relate to the sports environment;
- To promote changes in Coaches/PE teachers' attitudes and behaviours on preventing the use of violence, promoting gender equality and self-efficacy in relationships while responding to the perceived voices and needs of adolescents;
- To improve PE Teachers/coaches' ability to be able to provide supportive environments and action plans for adolescents in sports, in order to prevent GBV and promote GE.
- To advocate for increased focus on masculinities & involvement of boys and young men in GE and GBV prevention in sports, namely by promoting the mainstreaming of gender-synchronised and gender-based violence prevention methodologies in national coach and physical education training programmes.
Coordinator: Centre for Social Studies (Portugal)
Partners: Status M (Croatia), Fight for Peace (Brazil/UK) and Asociación Tarjeta Verde - Futbol Más (Spain)
