The Hon. Anika Wells MP PO Box 6022 House of Representatives Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600
The Hon. Ros Spence Level 1 2 Treasury Place East Melbourne VIC 3002
CC: Chin Tan – Commonwealth Race Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission.
18 August 2022
Dear Ministers,
We are writing to express our concern about incidents of racism in community sport and how they are addressed by sport clubs and associations. Although racism towards elite athletes has been the focus of many media reports and awareness raising campaigns, less attention has been paid to acts of everyday racism experienced by players of community sport. This changed on 12 August 2022 when The Age newspaper reported on the alleged racial vilification of a player, Aish Ravi, in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA), and Aish published an account of her experience.1
We know that racism contributes to low sport participation rates and negatively impacts the sport experiences of non-white people.2 Very few people speak out about racism due to fear of further marginalisation, retribution and being disbelieved,3 making Aish’s actions all the more exceptional. Although Aish’s report remains the subject of an internal process within VAFA, and we don’t comment on it further here, unfortunately racism is a persistent, systemic problem across local sport.4 It is in this context that we write to you with the aim to raise further awareness of the impact of racism on community sport participation and to develop additional measures to respond to this problem.
We write as experts in the study of sport and social inclusion, members of sport associations and the media who are committed to the transformative power of sport to tackle racism and foster belonging of people from all backgrounds. We commend the important work done by organisations like the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Victorian Human Rights Commission, Play by the Rules and VicSport in developing resources
However, as Aish’s experience and our long-standing scientific research indicate, more needs to be done. It is important to acknowledge that while these documents have been developed with the intention of fostering inclusive, culturally safe and welcoming local sport environments, their existence does not necessarily lead to desired outcomes in the absence of implementation, and in fact may further exacerbate the effects of racism.
As Federal and State Ministers for Sport, Community Sport and Multicultural Affairs, you are uniquely positioned to lead impactful change and make Victoria and Australia a world leader in this area. There is a clear opportunity to investigate and evaluate the appropriateness of club vilification
Concrete steps you could take might include:
● Creating a working party led by those impacted by racism in sport to share their lived experiences to inform policy change. ● Implementing a zero-tolerance approach, where the perpetrator is asked to stop (and apologise or leave the game). ● Recommending instant sanctions for perpetrators and protection for victims embedded in guidelines. ● Strengthening the powers of government sport agencies to mandate sport clubs develop robust policies and procedures to address instances of racial vilification, and that these be made publicly available. ● Evaluating the effectiveness of current mechanisms of reporting racial vilification in community sport. ● Exploring opportunities to improve education at club level about racism and the promotion of anti-racism. This should include education of players, bystanders and officials on what constitutes racism and how to act on it. ● If a player has raised an incident of racial vilification, ensuring procedures and timelines for action are transparent and communicated to all parties. It must be the responsibility of clubs to proactively address the issue. ● Establishing protocols to support the wellbeing of players experiencing abuse and those reporting it.
We look forward to your response and would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss the issues raised.
Your sincerely, The undersigned
Associate Professor Kim Toffoletti, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University, Co-author Aish Ravi, founder of Women’s Coaching Association, PhD candidate and women’s sport advocate, Co-author Professor Ruth Jeanes, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Co-author Professor Ramon Spaaij, Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Co-author Professor Karen Farquharson Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Anti-Racism Hallmark Research Initiative, Melbourne University Co-author – email: karen.farquharson@unimelb.edu.au Professor Fethi Mansouri, Director of Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Associate Professor Jorge Knijnik, School of Education, Western Sydney University Dr Laura Rodriguez Castro, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Dr Carla Luguetti, Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University Dr Laura Alfrey, Faculty of Education, Monash University Dr Mario Peucker, Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities, Victoria University Dr Ashleigh Haw, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University Angela Paredes Castro, PhD Candidate, Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University Dr Reyvi Marinas, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Nana Adoma Owusu-Afriyie, Australian track and field athlete Dr Amanuel Elias, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Dr Surjeet Dogra Dhanji Australia India Institute University of Melbourne Dr Jehonathan Ben, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Andrew Stapleton, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Dr Kalissa Alexeyeff, SSPS, The University of Melbourne Associate Professor Lan Anh Hoang, School of Social and Political Sciences, The University of Melbourne Dr Matt Wade, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University Dr Martina Boese, School of Humanities and Social Science, La Trobe University Dr Jessamy Gleeson, National Indigenous Knowledges Education Research Innovation (NIKERI) Institute, Deakin University Dr Iris Levin, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University Dr Mittul Vahanvati, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University Dr Violeta Schubert, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne Professor Michele Grossman, Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies (CRIS), Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Dr Katariina Rahikainen, UNSW Catherine Harper, Asia Institute, University of Melbourne Dr Karen Block, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne Professor Anita Harris, Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies (CRIS), Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Professor Andrew Singleton, Deakin University Dr Melissa Marinelli, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, The University of Melbourne Kate Jeffery, PhD candidate, Institute for Sustainable Industries & Liveable Cities, Victoria University Professor Supriya Singh, Honorary Professor Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT University Professor Kevin Dunn, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University Associate Professor Catherine Gomes, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University Associate Professor Kate Seear, The Outer Sanctum Podcast Shelley Ware, The Outer Sanctum Podcast, and Yankunytjatjara and Wirangu woman Charlene Edwards, Melbourne Social Equity Institute, University of Melbourne Mandy Salisbury, PhD Candidate, Education, Culture and Society. Damien Taylor, PhD Research Candidate, Institute of Health and Sport, Victoria University Danielle Warby, Co-Founder and Director of Siren: A Women in Sport Collective Dr Mandy Truong, Adjunct Research Fellow, Monash Nursing & Midwifery, Monash University Paul Bowell, PhD Research Candidate, Swinburne University of Technology Professor Christopher Sonn, Institute of Health and Sport, Victoria University
Penny Cula-Reid, AFLW Pioneer and Trailblazer Associate Professor Vince Marotta, Deakin University Dr Alexandra Lascu, University of Canberra Dr Renae Fomiatti, Deakin University Dr Lisa Young, Faculty of Education, Monash University Associate Professor Melissa Barnes, School of Education, La Trobe University Dr Makiko Nishitani, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University Nilushi Minoli Dediwalage, PhD student, Mathematics, Faculty of Education, Monash University Blake Cutler, Researcher and PhD Candidate in Social Justice, Faculty of Education, Monash University Melody Tang, PhD candidate, School of Education, Culture and Society, Faculty of Education, Monash University Ellie Manzari, PhD candidate, School of Education, Culture and Society, Faculty of Education, Monash University Nicholas Fogarty, PhD candidate, Gender and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sydney Dr Benjamin Cooke, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University Dr Adele Pavlidis, Griffith University Alexandra Lee, PhD Candidate, School of Sociology, Deakin University Liam Elphick, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Monash University Kirby Fenwick, co-founder and director of Siren: A Women in Sport Collective Stephanie Carroll, Physiotherapist and past VFLW footballer Dr Emma Seal, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University Ayuba Issaka. Post Doc Research Fellow. Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute Associate Professor Natalie Saunders, Deakin University Dr Katie Rowe, Deakin University Dr Helen Brown, Deakin University Dr Ascelin Gordon, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University Dr Alex Roberts, Queensland Academy of Sport and La Trobe University Dr Cammi Murrup-Stewart, Lecturer (Indigenous), Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University Sigourney Dunk, LLB Snedden Hall and Gallop Lawyers and Chair Dispute and Disciplinary Tribunal Capital Football Professor Simone Fullagar, Sport and Gender Equity research hub, Griffith University Philip Kairns, Doctoral Candidate, Faculty of Education, Monash University. Dr Jennifer Cheng, School of Social Science, Western Sydney University Dr Catherine Ordway, Associate Professor and Sport Integrity Research Lead, University of Canberra Glenn Warry, Chief Executive Officer, Football Coaches Australia Inc Professor Tim Marjoribanks, School of Business, Law and Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology Adam Cassidy, National Sporting Organisation and Community Consultant, Reflect Forward and One Love Australia