Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the committee.
My name is Allison Sandmeyer. I am the chief executive officer of Canadian Women and Sport. My pronouns are she/her.
I'm joining you today from the traditional territories of the peoples of the Treaty 7 region in southern Alberta. The city of Calgary is also the homeland of the historic northwest Métis and of the Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3.
Before I begin, I want to express my deep respect and gratitude to the survivors of maltreatment in sport. We stand with you in seeking change.
We are motivated in our work at Canadian Women and Sport by our belief that safe, equitable and inclusive sport is a powerful vehicle to advance opportunities and equity for women in every area of society. I am here today with the goal of ensuring that sport lives up to this promise.
Maltreatment in sport is global and universal, as we heard Rob Koehler share, but women and girls are a particularly vulnerable group. Even more so are women and girls who experience overlapping systems of oppression, such as indigenous girls, transgender girls and girls with disabilities.
How did we get here? Despite progress, research and experience confirm that sport remains a male-dominated space in which patriarchy, misogyny and hegemonic masculinity are institutionalized and expressed culturally at every level of sport. Women and girls are systematically devalued, creating conditions that put them at risk of harm due to maltreatment or gender-based violence. This is normalized.
As we just heard, there is no doubt that this negatively impacts men and boys as well.
We recognize that many women have also internalized patriarchy and misogyny and that women can and do perpetuate gender inequity and cause harm themselves. This is a reality that must be accounted for in developing solutions.
Recent examples of these phenomena in the news include unchecked toxic masculinity, normalizing gender-based violence by male athletes against young women; gender inequity in the form of inadequate oversight and accountability, exposing young women athletes to unfettered abuse by coaches; and misogyny in coaching practices, expressed as the body shaming and weight policing of young girls. That's to name but a few.
We need a sports system that is values-based, that prioritizes the dignity, rights and well-being of participants above all else, reflected in how sport is designed, measured and funded. We need a sports system that reflects the needs and interests of women, girls and other under-represented groups by embedding their voices and perspectives in every aspect, from governance and strategy to program delivery. We need a sports system that is diverse, equitable and inclusive at its core.
Safety in sport is inextricably tied to the decades-long fight for women to be valued, respected and treated fairly in sport and beyond. Without gender equity, sport will not be a safe space for women and girls. Without safety, full inclusion for women and girls is impossible.
We firmly support the need for a multitude of safeguarding measures to mitigate harm by anyone in sport. As part of this, we must act with urgency to address gender inequity. This must be done with an intersectional focus.
Progress is undoubtedly happening, but it is taking too long and it is inconsistently realized across the sports system. The recent announcement of $25.3 million in renewed federal funding for gender equity in sport is vitally important. However, it is clear from the testimony today that further measures are needed to accelerate progress. The goal must be structural and cultural transformation. Anything less will be insufficient.
To that end, our recommendations are the following.
First—echoing the other witnesses—we must seize on the all-party concern about abuse in sport to initiate a national judicial inquiry by the Government of Canada into maltreatment at all levels of sport to gain a full systemic view of the challenges and to design appropriate solutions. Again, an intersectional gender lens must be applied to this process, and as part of the inquiry, possible regulatory systems for sport should be explored.
In the meantime, we must move urgently to use the full force of the federal government as a major investor in sport to effect change. This includes imposing minimum standards for gender equity, diversity, inclusion and safeguarding for any organization receiving sport funding. This should not be limited to the core funding frameworks alone. Funding for high performance from Own the Podium, as well as for events hosting, infrastructure, projects and so forth, should all be contingent on groups' meeting these standards for values-based sports.
Thank you.