For the first time Sport NI is joining thousands of others this weekend for the Belfast Pride parade in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Equality and inclusion are at the heart of Sport NI’s five-year plan, The Power of Sport. As an organisation we are striving to address inequalities within the sports sector and maximise the power of sport to change lives for everyone in society, including the LGBTQ+ community.
Sport is for everyone, regardless of your sexuality, gender, race, religion or ability. Participating in sport has so many benefits, from improving our mental health and wellbeing to learning new skills and building new friendships, yet many people from the LGBTQ+ community feel they must hide their true selves within their sports clubs or feel they are unable to participate in sport at all.
Research by Out in Sport found that across Europe, 82% of LGBTQ+ people who take part in sport have experienced or witnessed homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in the past 12 months (Out in Sport, 2019).
33% of LGBTQ+ people who participate in or follow sport aren’t out to anyone in their sporting life (Out in Sport, 2019). This research indicates that fear of rejection and bullying are two key factors keeping athletes ‘in the closet’.
As the lead development agency for sport in Northern Ireland we have a role to play. Equality and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do, and we are challenging sporting governing bodies to do the same. Equality, diversity and inclusion is a key priority area in our new £6.5m Sports System Investment Programme, empowering sports to develop inclusion policies and do more to attract and retain participants from underrepresented groups. Through this investment programme, sports will capture more data than ever before, including important information on participation rates and the sporting workforce which will help improve the sporting system for everyone involved.
Richard Archibald, Director of Sport.
We recognise and understand there are challenging issues. Often in the headlines, transgender inclusion in sport is complex and an issue on which we have worked closely with our counterparts in England, Scotland and Wales. In Sept 2021 the five UK Sports Councils published joint guidance on transgender inclusion in sport following a rigorous consultation and review of scientific research.
That guidance is to help sports consider their own approach around transgender inclusion in their individual sport. Every sport is different, so we encourage each to be creative, flexible, and accommodating in their approaches. Following this guidance and process will develop meaningful inclusion policies that consider the needs of all groups balancing inclusion, safety and fairness – and be transparent in their decision-making. Since the publication of this guidance we have been supporting sports to properly reflect on trans-inclusion through training and briefings.
Along with other under-represented groups, we want to pursue a conversation on LGBTQ+ representation in sport, to better understand the challenges this community faces and to encourage sports to help us build a welcoming and inclusive sports culture in Northern Ireland. Participating in Pride is part of that conversation, but when the rainbow flags and t-shirts are packed away, considerable work lies ahead for everyone in sport.
By Richard Archibald, Director of Sport, Sport NI