Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament am ar 28 Tachwedd 2023.
Emma Harper makes a very powerful point. I recall a netball team that could only get sponsorship if they agreed to do a calendar in a certain way. That talks to sponsors and the finance that goes into sport. The fact remains that sport should be about the product of the sport—be that what it may.
We have heard about the data and research that are lacking, as well as the skills that are lacking, in order to produce comfortable, usable clothing for women to use in sport. That should take the priority. Sport should not be about what it is wrapped up in and what it looks like. Sport is the joy of watching someone do something brilliantly at elite level, participating at medium level and just having a go at the earlier levels.
I raised with the minister the point made in paragraph 132 of the report about the domination of playgrounds and physical spaces by boys. That speaks to the very heart of the change of culture that so many people have spoken about. If girls do not feel safe in a playground—be that a school playground, a local authority playground or just the field out the back of their house—they are not going to enjoy the physical experience of being there. It is interesting that the report goes on, in paragraph 179 and, in particular, paragraph 180 with regard to physical education in schools, to quote from the Children’s Parliament report, “Gender Equality in Education and Learning”, which calls for
“trained supervision in playgrounds and spaces where girls experience sexism and sexual violence” so that they feel safe.