Starmer to work with social media platforms about abuse

4 hours ago 20

Sir Keir Starmer says the authorities volition research whether further protective measures tin beryllium enactment successful spot connected societal media platforms aft tennis subordinate Katie Boulter highlighted the sickening maltreatment she received.

Earlier this week, British fig 2 Boulter laid bare to BBC Sport the grade of the abusive contented and death threats she receives connected societal media.

Several England players accidental they plan to springiness up societal media for their upcoming European Championship defence successful Switzerland.

Speaking to the BBC's Katie Gornall arsenic helium met the Lionesses astatine St George's Park connected Thursday, UK Prime Minister Starmer said it was not close for pistillate athletes to "adjust their ain lives" due to the fact that of specified abuse.

"If you look astatine the measurement of maltreatment it tends to beryllium adjacent greater for women arsenic it does for men, aforesaid successful sport," helium said.

"So we request to look astatine what much we tin do. It's a large shame that immoderate of these players privation to travel disconnected societal media for the duration of a contention wherever they are the defending champions.

"They shouldn't person to beryllium having to set their ain lives due to the fact that of the different people."

When asked what helium could bash astir the occupation of societal media abuse, helium added: "We request to look astatine what we tin do, moving with immoderate of the level providers, to spot whether we tin instrumentality immoderate further measures, enactment different thing successful place.

"You can't get authorities done successful a hurry truthful I'm not going to unreal there's a portion of authorities lined up acceptable to go, truthful I deliberation moving with the providers and platforms determination is much we tin much that we should do."

On Tuesday, Boulter provided BBC Sport unprecedented penetration into the measurement and quality of maltreatment received by players, including sharing screenshots of her backstage inbox.

"I deliberation it conscionable benignant of shows however susceptible we are," the 28-year-old said. "You truly don't cognize if this idiosyncratic is connected site. You truly don't cognize if they're adjacent oregon if they cognize wherever you unrecorded oregon thing similar that."

There were besides threats against her full family.

Figures provided by information subject steadfast Signify, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Women's Tennis Association (WTA), amusement that successful 2024, astir 8,000 abusive, convulsive oregon threatening messages were sent publically to 458 tennis players done their societal media accounts.

England guardant Lauren James said "the maltreatment ne'er truly stops".

"Sometimes it's not adjacent to bash with my performance, adjacent erstwhile idiosyncratic loses astatine Fifa [computer game], my paper scores against them and they're sending maine abuse.

"I conjecture erstwhile it's your archetypal clip though, possibly it mightiness interaction someone, but I'm utilized to it. I'm going to conscionable brushwood it disconnected my shoulder."

Starmer added: "I would besides accidental to everyone retired determination they request our enactment not our abuse, they merit our support, not maltreatment and they've earned our support, not abuse.

"So travel connected if you're into shot if you privation to backmost this squad get down them and really backmost them."

Starmer was astatine St George's Park to denote a caller School Sport Partnerships and Enrichment Framework for schools to guarantee each young radical person adjacent entree to high-quality athletics and extracurricular activity.

Under the caller framework, girls volition beryllium fixed the aforesaid opportunities arsenic boys to play athletics astatine school.

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