Vera Pauw, the Republic of Ireland women’s team head coach, received widespread support from the Irish football fraternity and the Football Association of Ireland after she revealed in a statement online that as a player, she was a victim of rape and sexual abuse.
Pauw, who featured in 89 games for the Netherlands from 1984 to 1998 in a statement on her social media said, “For 35 years, I have kept a secret from the world, from my family, from my team-mates, my players, and now I can finally accept, from myself.”
“Even those closest to me have not known of the rape I endured at the hands of a prominent football official when I was a young player. Later two sexual assaults by two other men were added to this record. All three men were employed within Dutch football at the time of these incidents.”
This has been the toughest thing in my life but, finally, I’m ready to move on and be proud of who I am
Vera 💚 pic.twitter.com/27v25nFViP
— Vera Pauw (@verapauw) July 1, 2022
The Football Association of Ireland then released a statement saying they understood the impact of Pauw’s revelations and were fully behind their head coach.
“The FAI is absolutely aware of the impact these revelations will have on Vera’s well-being and have assured her of the ongoing full support of the FAI Board and all her colleagues at the Association.”
The FAI has given its full support to Republic of Ireland WNT Manager Vera Pauw at this difficult time in her life as she makes very brave revelations about her past.
Statement 👉 https://t.co/cy36G3SsoL#WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/YvVPmcMPJG
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) July 1, 2022
Meanwhile, Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) also released a statement admitting that they “did not react sharply enough” to Vera Pauw’s first reports that men working within Dutch football had sexually abused her, adding: “It is unacceptable that Vera did not experience the safe working environment she was entitled to.”
“As a result, we have jointly decided to have research done. Vera wanted this to be carried out by Verinorm, an independent research agency that specialises in social safety,” the KNVB said.
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They further added, “We want to discuss the recommendations from the report internally and with Vera as soon as possible but with the utmost care so that we can set out actions. Also with a view to recovery mediation.”