Palmeiras hold talk on tackling violence against women for youth players | OneFootball

The Psychosocial Center of the Palmeiras youth academy held a lecture this week on combating violence against women and rape culture, aimed at youth team players. The event, which took place at the club’s social headquarters, was attended by athletes and members of the coaching staff from the under-15, under-16, and under-17 teams.

This initiative is part of Verdão’s commitment to the No One Remains Silent Pact, a project by the São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPSP) and the Labor Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPT), to which the club has been a signatory since November 2024. Because of this, the club is committed to carrying out initiatives to confront rape culture, violence, and harassment.

How was the lecture?

The speakers presented the athletes and staff members with “a comprehensive overview of cases of violence against women in the country, highlighting elements that lead to the silencing and blaming of victims.” Another topic discussed was the importance of consent, aiming to reinforce the necessity of agreements between the parties involved for a respectful and healthy relationship.

The players were also shown data indicating a noticeable increase in incidents of aggression during football matches, prompting reflection on harmful triggers present in the world of sports.

“Talking to young people is very important, especially so they internalize the idea of confrontation, understand how rape culture works, and recognize abusive traits in their relationships and in the actions of friends and family. It’s important that they know how to reach out to victims, talk to them, because we know that most do not go to the police or the Public Prosecutor’s Office, but rather to acquaintances in their social circle. Everyone has great potential to be agents of transformation for all of society,” said Vanessa Therezinha, coordinator of the Gender Center of the São Paulo State Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPSP).

“I want to congratulate Palmeiras for this initiative, for the opportunity we had to talk to these boys, who are just beginning to have emotional and romantic relationships, about this very important topic of consent. It is a fundamental tool for understanding the difference between healthy sexual and erotic interactions and those that are not. We were able to address the requirements for this consent to be considered valid, the expression of clear manifestations for this to happen, as well as defining from what age these young people can engage in such relationships,” emphasized Silvia Chakian, Director of Women at the São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Association (APMP).

“It was an opportunity to talk about the lack of consent when there is manipulation, psychological coercion, and inability to resist—fundamental topics for us to work on changing the culture and preventing violence against women,” concluded the director.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.