Like many Australians, we watched in disbelief this week as media commentators and senior AFL figures scrambled to 'contain' the fallout from sexual assault allegations against five Sydney Swans football players after an away game in Melbourne over the weekend.
Instead of leading with condemnation of the alleged behavior, centering the victim and expressing empathy, the immediate response used passive language, suggesting players were 'finding themselves' in this situation.
It focused on how the alleged sexual assault would affect the team's chances of making the grand final and how other players not involved in the alleged crime would be lying in bed worrying about how this would disrupt their prospects for success.
Australians demanded better
We commend the swift response of the community who pushed back against this initial response, and demanded better.
We acknowledge the AFL and the club’s updated statements, intensifying the language about their expectations on player behaviour and issuing bans for some players for the remainder of the season.
If media commentators and senior AFL figures had responded with appropriate vigor from the start, it would have shown all Australians that men's violence against women is a critical issue. The safety of women should be more important than a game, a business, or an enterprise.
The reality of sexual violence
1 in 5 Australian women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15, a statistic that we know is grossly under-representing the scale of violence considering how under reported it is.
The ripple effect of harm should not go unnoticed. Swans fans are hurting, the Sydney AFLW side is hurting, women are hurting, survivors are hurting.
This high-profile case shows that our community expects better, the bar needs to be raised and how media, sporting clubs and businesses respond to criminal allegations sets the tone for how victims and victim survivors are treated.
Keep the momentum going
Now is the time to stand together and demand change. So called 'locker room talk', boys will be boys attitudes, looking the other way. It stops here.
Community organising incentivised the AFL and the club to strengthen their responses. Let's keep that momentum alive: your workplace, your sports club, your community can take a stand, by joining the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence this November and December. Join our mailing list to find events and get resources to help you be a part of the campaign.
At the centre of this story are the victims and survivors who against enormous odds speak out and take a stand against violence and those who choose to minimise it. We stand with them – always.