Sport Integrity Australia Launches High-Level Strategy to Enhance Safety for Women and Girls in Sport
Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) is proud to announce the launch of a comprehensive strategy aimed at enhancing the safety of women and girls in sport.
This initiative follows a significant funding boost ($1.125 million over 5 years from January 2024) from the Federal Government, marking a key step towards addressing the integrity issues faced by women and girls in Australian sport.
The Empowering Women and Girls in Sport Integrity Program is designed to tackle critical issues such as abuse, bullying, harassment, sexual misconduct, discrimination, victimisation, vilification, and cheating.
The program is structured around four key pillars:
- Supporting Women in Leadership by Strengthening Integrity Environments: Removing integrity threats to ensure women can thrive in leadership roles.
- Empower through Education: Strengthening policies and processes to educate and protect.
- Influence through Partnership: Collaborating across various sectors to drive positive change.
- Understand and Strengthen the Integrity Environment: Conducting research and annual assessments to continually improve.
The Minister for Sport, the Hon Anika Wells MP said: “The funding commitment of $1.125 million to this program is indicative of the Federal Government’s commitment to enhancing the safety for women and girls involved in sport at all levels, and I see this as a priority program in the lead up to Brisbane 2032.
“A key aspect of the program is to identify the integrity threats facing women and girls in sport; there must be no place in sport for abuse, bullying, harassment or discrimination based on gender. Another important part of the program is support for women aspiring to and in leadership positions in Australian sport.”
Acting SIA CEO Dr Sarah Benson, who drove the initial development of the program, said this initiative is aimed at delivering cultural change for women in sport at every level.
“I am thrilled to oversee this program and see it come to fruition with the dedicated recourses necessary to make meaningful and long-lasting change to equality in sport for women,” Dr Benson said.
“Ensuring the safety and integrity of sport for women and girls is crucial for their continued participation and success.
“By addressing and mitigating threats such as abuse and discrimination, we create an environment where women and girls feel valued, respected and empowered to pursue their sporting goals.
“This not only benefits their personal development and well-being, but also enriches the sporting community, fostering diversity, inclusion and excellence".
The Program is aligned to several Australian Government investments to support equal opportunities in cultural, recreational and sporting activities at all levels.
It seeks to improve the integrity environment as a foundation to support the successful implementation of a range of national strategies and policies (including the National Sport Strategy 2024-2034, National High Performance Sports Strategy (Win Well), National Sport Participation Strategy (Play Well) and National Gender Equity in Sports Governance Policy).
For further information on the Empowering Women and Girls in Sport Integrity Program visit: https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/empowering-women-girls-sport-integrity-program
