Huddle Up and Make the Call Toolkit

"Bringing the discussion of how men and boys can address gender-based violence and violence against women and girls to the world of sports is a powerful and positive tool. Athletes at all levels have a lot to say on this issue, and men and boys are eager to discuss."

From White Ribbon in partnership with the Toronto [Canada] Argonauts Football Club, this e-module for athletes and coaches links sports and social change/gender equality. Created with support from Status of Women Canada, it contains information, tools, and resources on gender-based violence (GBV) for students and educators. The model, as explored within tabs in the e-module, involves:

• Collaborating with women leaders;
• Understanding that "It's not about shaming. It's about strength."
• Recognising that some aspects of masculinity and sports culture promote violence;
• Using team cohesion to work through issues of consent, GBV, and violence against women and girls (VAWG); and
• Giving men and boys time to consider the complexities of power, entitlement, GBV, and VAWB.

The Huddle Up and Make the Call programme looks to engage students in a number of ways. One section provides tools to plan a season with ideas for activities and student-led initiatives. Several tips are provided on how to positively engage students, athletes, and community members in preventing GBV and VAWG; for instance: acknowledge that GBV affects us all; keep the conversation "safe"; and focus on strengths. Other chapters, which interweave the strategy of community engagement, focus on:

• Sport as emotion - skills practices include a feelings wheel, safe space activity, exploration of consent, and actions to challenge victim blaming;
• Off the field - skills practices include recognising GBV, understanding the continuum of violence, and intervening in violence;
• The fans - skills practices include exploring the balancing act of masculinity, supporting survivors of GBV, and calling out harassment in all its forms.

There is also a glossary.