Ahead of International Women’s Day (8 March), the Council of Europe’s Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) held its annual Breakfast Roundtable on the topic of women’s health and sport – a subject frequently overlooked by institutions and sports organisations. The event brought together athletes, experts, medical doctors and representatives from unions and other sports organisations to discuss initiatives and practical solutions to ensure that women and girls’ health is factored in in practical terms in sports.
Welcoming participants to the event, Council of Europe Director General of human rights and rule of law, Gianluca Esposito, acknowledged the pioneering work done by EPAS in equality and sport. He also underlined the shocking persistence of gender inequality in sport, “We still have a lot of work to do. This first awareness-raising and discussion session on women’s health and sport, a subject so far overlooked at the pan-European level, will lead the way to more concrete work. We will do this together with our member states and our international partner organisations.”
Two panel discussions focused on athletes’ lived experiences, and on ways to increase awareness and improve education on the subject at the pan-European level. Major areas of importance were discussed, including physical health issues, such as over-training, anorexia, menstruation and more, and mental health.
Olympic athlete and sport social worker, Aauri Bokesa presented her perspective on women’s health based on her experience as a 400m specialist: “For me, mental health issues were the worst. I remember that when I achieved my personal goal, but did not qualify for the Olympics, I was crying instead of celebrating. The coach congratulated me for crying, because that meant I was ambitious. He made me feel that I had done something wrong, and I was not OK mentally. Rather than feeling bad, sports should be about personal health and joy.”
Baz Moffat, CEO and Co-founder of The Well HQ, set out a wide range of health issues affecting women in sport, based on her experience as a former professional rower and her work with young women: “The needs of the female body are unique, and they must be reflected in strategy, education, and culture. But they’re not. And right now, all across the world women are shoehorned into sporting systems that were never designed for her. For women’s sport to thrive, every female in every system in every country needs to know how she works. She needs to know how to train with her body – not against it.”
Martine Duclos, endocrinologist, physiologist and sports doctor, Head of the Sports Medicine Department at Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital and President of the French National Observatory of Physical Activity and Sedentary Lifestyles, illustrated the health benefits of sport for women throughout the different times in their lives: “Women have historically been underrepresented in exercise physiology research compared to men. Only 20% of publications are dedicated to women. Therefore, in the absence of information, current recommendations are based on male physiology. Large areas of research remain necessary.”
The right to health and sport will be the theme of the Forum on Sport and Human Rights, organised by EPAS, on 16 December 2025 in Paris, France.