Taking place in the capital of Suva on September 5, the topic covered was "Contextualising Gender-based Violence and its Impact in Sports".

The Women in Sport chairperson Hamidan Bibi held the workshop that included participants from FASANOC's Voices of the Athletes Programmes Champions, Women in Sport Committee members and FASANOC staff.

"It is anticipated to be offered to National Federations and other sporting organisations for awareness and advocacy on the subject, as well as help create desired change among our communities - a much needed feat today," said Bibi.

She explained that gender-based violence affects the engagement of women in sport and participating in physical activity, which then impacts motivation and the legacy of the sport in places such as the governing bodies.

"The workshop helped identify material relevant to how gender-based violence impacts sports - its root causes, consequences and impacts," added Bibi.

"Participants through experiential sharing helped identify small case studies or stories emerging over the year they have experienced through sports."

Bibi believes this workshop will give National Federations a better understanding of the barriers for women in sport and aim to create better awareness of tackling them in the future.

VOA Champion athlete Hector Smith said the workshop opened his eyes and encouraged others to be a part of it.

"Gender-based violence is right now at the forefront of problems we face here in Fiji and it is up to us as role models to tackle this issue," said Smith.

"But these workshops would not be useful unless we as participants really take back and live what we learnt during the workshop."

The workshop was funded by the International Olympic Committee Olympic Solidarity Gender Equality and Diversity Programme.

It is anticipated that further workshops on the topic will be conducted in October and November for interested National Federations with the assistance of Olympic Solidarity funding.