The International Working Group on Women and Sport (IWG) found in a study that over a third of the sports organizations are not taking any actions against gender-based violence, since 2013 when they were last inspected.
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From those organizations, a quarter didn't take any actions due to the fact that they don't see it as an existing problem. IWG is an organization that works for "a sustainable sporting culture based on gender equality that enables and values the full involvement of girls and women in every aspect of sport and physical activity," as stated in their website.
This and other organizations committed to ending abuse, violence and harassment against athletes, have urged sporting bodies to take action against this kind of violence. They also expressed their surprise over the low number of authorities addressing this subject, which "continue to operate in denial."
Professor Elizabeth Pike, part of the international team of researchers told BBC sports: "We think that gender-based violence is something everybody working in sport ought to attend to in some way. People are saying that it is something that needs to be dealt with, so for us, it's a priority because there is still, in some societies, this lack of respect for girls and women because of gender stereotypes."