Voices: Sexual consent training for Premier League footballers should just be the beginning
Kick rapists off the pitch” was the banner that flew over Selhurst Park during the Premier League season’s first match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal last week. An unnamed player who’d been arrested on suspicion of rape in July hadn’t been suspended by his club and could be playing in upcoming games over the next nine months.
Ahead of opening weekend, it was announced that Premier League players would receive mandatory sexual consent training. Previously, there had been workshops for academy and first-team players from under-14s to under-23s but it was never mandatory for senior players. Clearly, it was thought that they should know better than to assault women. Evidently, this is not the case.
Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy has been on trial this week after being accused of and charged with eight counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault, by six different women, in alleged instances spanning from July 2012 to August last year.
At the end of January, women watched their Twitter timelines in horror when disturbing recordings were circulated from a woman’s Instagram account. Manchester United player Mason Greenwood is now on bail after being arrested for suspicion of rape, assault and making threats to kill.
Sheffield United’s Ched Evans, Manchester City’s Adam Johnson – there’s a sizeable list of footballers who have been historically and more recently accused of violent or predatory behaviour. Many can’t be named for legal reasons, and even more may never be reported, as five in six women don’t want to alert the police after being attacked, according to Rape Crisis.
As young, wealthy, publicly adored men, footballers stand in a scary position of power over dates, one-night stands and strangers. Really, it’s pathetic that we need to teach grown men not to rape. But for too long the onus has been on women to learn how not to get raped (don’t wear that, don’t walk there). Giving top players mentorship is essential in bursting the bubble of competition and inflated egos in which they’ve been raised.
Sexual relationships, seeking consent and understanding sexual harassment and bullying will all be covered in the new workshops. Any club that fails to introduce the measure will face, currently unspecified, disciplinary action. Will this sexual consent training guarantee women won’t be assaulted by Premier League footballers? Absolutely not. But it might start to break down decades worth of misogyny and harassment disguised and accepted as “banter”.
Actively educating people about the harms of certain behaviours shifts the barometer for what is accepted by society. Footballers are role models for millions, and when they visibly stand up against violence and show they’re embarrassed and disgusted by men who don’t understand the word “no”, then this bare minimum level of respect for women should ricochet around the stands to the men who cheer them on.
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Similarly, when clubs do nothing to punish players accused of sexual assault (currently it’s down to each individual club whether or not they’re suspended), assault and rape become inconsequential. Who cares if he’s a criminal? We need his presence on the pitch to win the game.
Mandatory sexual consent training in the Premier League is long overdue. But this education needs to be followed up with severe disciplinary action. In February 2022, action groups Level Up, The Three Hijabis and End Violence Against Women Coalition all signed an open letter to the Premier League demanding mandatory training. But they also outlined the need for sexual misconduct policies, protocols to impose disciplinary action on players and the introduction of a charter for tackling gender-based violence. Where are they?
It seems the Premier League is listening as it met with campaign groups in March and June to discuss further action. But the Football Association hasn’t engaged since the letter in February and has promised nothing. We need all governing bodies to show the same level of commitment to change to make progress permanent.
You could say that action to finally transform football’s problematically laddish culture is a fitting legacy for the Lionesses’ historic win at Wembley in the European Championship final. But frankly, it shouldn’t matter whether women are scoring goals, sitting in the stands, or at home on their sofas – we deserve safety and respect. And we deserve it now.
