A team effort: preventing violence against women through sport

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Our Watch, November 2017

Sport is an integral part of Australian culture and it is woven into the fabric of the everyday lives of many Australian individuals, families and communities.

Change the story: a shared national framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia identifies it as a key setting for the prevention of violence against women in Australia.

On and off the field, sport has great potential to influence social change and prevent violence against women by creating inclusive, equitable, healthy and safe environments for men and women, boys and girls.

Sport has the capacity to influence, inform and shape attitudes and behaviours in both negative and positive ways. Sporting environments are places where violence against women can occur directly and, if allowed, can provide a setting for entrenched violence-supportive attitudes and behaviours to be played out. However, this doesn’t have to be the way. Sport can be a leader to empower, motivate and inspire change, on and off the field. Sport is a powerful environment to connect boys and girls, men and women with vital information, skills and strategies to push for inclusive, equitable, healthy and safe sporting spaces for everyone.

The challenge is to extend the notion of equality and fairness into the core business of sport by addressing the drivers of violence against women and stop it before it starts.

By J Pope

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