The Diplomat
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, yesterday expressed his support for Spanish footballer Jennifer Hermoso and called for the scandal over the non-consensual kiss given to her by the now-suspended president of the Spanish football federation, Luis Rubiales, to be “a turning point” in the world of sport.
“Women in sport continue to face sexual harassment and abuse. We all have a responsibility to denounce and confront these abuses,” he said in a message on social media X. “We stand with Jenni Hermoso and all those working to end abuse and sexism in sport,” she wrote, alongside the hashtag #SeAcabó.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General’s spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told a press conference on Monday that “there is a critical problem of sexism that continues to exist in sport” and expressed the organisation’s hope that “the Spanish authorities and government will address it in a way that respects the rights of all women athletes”.
“How hard is it not to kiss someone on the lips?” asked Dujarric, who declined to rule on whether Rubiales’ actions amounted to sexual assault. “That’s a criminal term. As far as we can see, there is no indication that any of that was consensual,” he said.
Turk and Dujarric’s remarks come just days after UN Women rebuked Rubiales’ “offensive, totally unacceptable comments and behaviour” about kissing Hermoso at the World Cup celebrations and advocated “zero tolerance” for “any form of abuse or harassment” in women’s sport.
For its part, the International Football Federation (FIFA), through its Disciplinary Committee, suspended Rubiales on Saturday “on a provisional basis” from “all football-related activities at national and international level”. The suspension is effective from the same day and “extends for an initial period of 90 days”, according to the body, “pending the processing of the disciplinary proceedings” that the Disciplinary Committee opened on 24 August against Rubiales following his behaviour after the Women’s World Cup final.
