I want to say a few words about the comments made on radio last week about one of Australia’s best sport journalists, Caroline Wilson.
Last week was a great week in the history of our game:
• We announced licenses for eight clubs to be part of the new national women’s league.
• With three other sporting codes we signed a leadership commitment to work with Our Watch to combat violence against women and children.
• On Saturday night, two of our clubs participated in a game dedicated to White Ribbon.
But in that same week, we also had comments made on radio that were disparaging and insulting to a woman who has done so much for our game - breaking down barriers for women journalists and being a role model for many in our industry.
In the past, we might have just ignored the comments as part of the culture of footy.
We might have said that Caroline is tough and resilient.
Well, that is not good enough.
We can’t say we are committed to making and leading change if we don’t step up and call this out.
Words and jokes have incredible power.
The fact that the comments were made on radio a week ago and were not called out is an indictment on everyone working within football.
The fact that we can still argue that this might have been done in jest is an indictment on our sport.
I understand that the men who made these comments feel horrified that they could be construed as creating an environment that makes sexist behaviours or a culture of violence against women more acceptable.
But the truth is, these kinds of comments do.
The AFL is committed to a relationship with Our Watch because the statistics about violence against women and children are truly shocking. Family violence is the highest contribution to death and injury of women aged 15 to 44.
And casual language and jokes about threats to women are part of the problem.
I became a Male Champion of Change to lead on issues of equality - but the reality is I have a lot to learn - and am still listening and learning.
We are all learning that everyday comments cause harm and help create the environment to allow more mistreatment of women to occur, without consequence.
Footy has to be an increasing part of the solution.
We have a lot to be proud of at the AFL in regards to these issues.
Women make up half our passionate supporter base. Women are involved at every level of our game. We will have a professional women’s league starting in 2017.
But we still have so far to go.
And our sport must lead.
I recognise the AFL has an important role in influencing community attitudes and I am committed to use my influence to change the conversation about violence against women.
The conversation this week was a stark reminder to me of how much change is still required for women to feel truly welcomed in our code and reinforced my commitment to supporting change.
I look forward to continuing the AFL’s work towards gender equality.
