Sport Integrity Australia's unbreakable commitment to safeguarding in sport
This week, Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) joined Australian tennis star Jelena Dokic in Melbourne’s Federation Square for an advanced open-air screening of her documentary film Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story.
As an official impact partner for the film, SIA’s Acting Deputy CEO, Dr Paul Oliver joined a live panel discussion ahead of the advanced screening alongside Ms Dokic, Australian Childhood Foundation CEO, Janise Mitchell and panel moderator and gender equity advocate Shaynna Blaze.
The expert panel discussed the advancement of support services and safeguards in sport that are now available to help prevent abuse cases like those experienced by Ms Dokic, along with opportunities for continued improvement.
Dr Oliver, who is also the Deputy Chair of the International Safeguards for Children in Sport Advisory Board, echoed the documentary objectives which highlight the need for greater awareness and education as crucial tools for keeping children and young people safe in sport.
"It’s important to have education awareness – knowing what is wrong or right in behaviours and then knowing where to go if you do have an issue – and that’s what Sport Integrity Australia’s role is; to grow that education awareness,” he told the panel.
Members of the public who attended the advanced screening described the documentary as “eye-opening, powerful, inspiring and impactful,” and according to the strong woman at the centre of it all, that was the goal of sharing her story.
“I can’t change the world, but I can help change someone's world,” Ms Dokic said.
“It was important for sport and society in general that we could take positive things out of this story but also very important lessons.
“We need to create safe spaces and environments and remove the shame, stigma and judgement that comes when we talk about child abuse, domestic violence or mental health.
“It’s important to be able to spread the message of hope, but at the same time...[identify] what are some of the things we did miss 20 years ago and how do we move forward from here and make it better.”
The documentary looks to amplify and build momentum to resolve the findings of the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls.
The report, released in October 2024, states that the disproportionate levels of violence experienced by women and girls in sport is a serious and systemic human rights issue that demands immediate attention at all levels.
This sentiment is supported by SIA statistics, which found between January 2022 and April 2023, almost 65% of the National Integrity Framework related complaints that progressed to investigation were related to alleged prohibited conduct against women or girls.
Sport Integrity Australia recently launched a new Empowering Women and Girls in Sport Integrity Program designed to support women and girls to enter, stay and thrive in sport at all levels.
Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story
officially aired on Wednesday 29 January and is available to stream via Nine Now.
Sporting organisations can commit to safeguarding by having:
- Leaders who champion a safe sporting culture
- A culture of listening to children and young people on matters that affect them
- Effective safeguarding policies and practices
- Child safe risk management strategies
- Child safe recruitment that considers the skills required of people who work with children and young people
- Ongoing training and supervision for people who work with children and young people
- A culture of reporting incidents, one that prioritises the safety of children and young people
- A process of continual improvement
Whether you are a coach, administrator, participant, volunteer, parent, official or spectator – you have an important role to make sure everyone can take part in a fun, safe and positive environment.
Safeguarding resources:
Dokic documentary lesson plan for schools and teachers [PDF]
You can help by:
- Getting educated on child safety
- Knowing where to go for support
- Being ready to listen and believe
- Understanding how and where to report
