More than half of female and non-binary football fans questioned for a survey by anti-discrimination charity Kick it Out said they had experienced sexist behaviour or language at matches.
Of the 1,502 fans asked, 23% said they felt unsafe at games.
From those who had experienced sexist or misogynistic abuse, 85% said they had not reported it, with 46% of those saying it was because they believed it would not make a difference and 43% saying they felt it would not be taken seriously.
Experiences of sexist behaviour included being questioned on their knowledge of the rules, wolf-whistling, and constant badgering or harassment.
Some fans surveyed also reported experiencing inappropriate touching, physical violence and sexual assault on a matchday.
The survey also found:
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61% of fans had heard sexist behaviour dismissed as banter.
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Of the 727 fans who said they had experienced sexist language, 53% said they had been told they should be elsewhere (examples included fans being told to “get back in the kitchen”)
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46% had been subjected to lewd requests
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27% had heard sexually aggressive language.
Bethany Patrick – a lifelong Sheffield Wednesday fan – has been on the receiving end of sexist chanting and abuse, with her worst experience coming after a game to mark International Women’s Day in March 2023.
“It was a Friday night game. I went with my boyfriend, it was quite rowdy and we were walking back from Hillsborough. I was getting sexist abuse from people on the tram going past, and I got spat at,” the 25-year-old said.
“It shook me. I thought, ‘This is my routine I should be comfortable here.’ It was jarring.”
After learning through social media that other fans had suffered the same experience, she set up the Sheffield Wednesday Women’s Supporters’ Group, which has more than 400 members.
The group provides practical and emotional support as well as advice on how to report sexist abuse.
It is an issue, Patrick says, that is particularly acute online.
“There’s been times when we’ve had really bad abuse, even death threats. It’s made me anxious about going to games,” she told BBC Sport.
In response to concerns faced by fans, Kick it Out has launched a campaign to encourage more people to report sexism and call it out.