Respect Starts Here – Football and Netball Clubs

Stream 1: Getting started

Getting Started supports your club to identify and set priorities for gender equality in sport and build capacity of leaders within the club to promote equality and respect.

Club leaders participate in 3 collaborative sessions:

1. Gender Equality Quick Wins workshop – to identify your club’s priorities for promoting gender equality and respect within your club. The outcome of this workshop will be sent to your club’s committee for review and approval.
2. Poster display and key messaging workshop – a collaborative session to tailor gender equality and respect messages for your club based on your gender equality priorities. Along with club photos/images, the key messages will be turned into posters for display around the club and on social media to communicate the values and priorities of the club.
3. Bystander action and responding to disclosures workshop for club leaders – this session builds the capacity of leaders to stand up to disrespectful attitudes and behaviours. It will teach the core elements of responding to someone disclosing an experience of sexism, bullying, sexual assault, or violence within the home.

Getting started is a program for people who take on leadership roles across the club including committee members, coaches, coordinators, captains, and informal peer leaders.

Stream 2: All in

All in supports your club to take an in-depth approach to understanding and addressing gender equality in sport. This collaborative and tailored program spans two seasons, building the knowledge and capacity of all club members from the age of 14.

The All in leadership group (Club Action Group) participates in 4 collaborative in-person sessions across the 2024 season:

1. Respect Starts Here information session and inaugural planning meeting
2. Poster display and key messaging workshop – a collaborative session to tailor gender equality and respect messages for your club. Along with club photos/images, the key messages will be turned into posters for display around the club and on social media to communicate the values and priorities of the club.
3. Gender Equity Needs Assessment workshop and member survey – this session aims to understand the current state of gender equality in the club, the club’s priorities and goals for gender equality and respect within the club. It includes a whole of club member survey that provides an opportunity for all club members to contribute to the process.
4. Gender Equity Action Plan workshop – building on the data collected through the needs assessment and member survey, this workshop supports the club action group to create an achievable plan for action to meet the club’s gender equality goals.  Action plans are then brought to the club committee for approval.

The program expands to whole-of-club in the 2025 season:

1. Bystander action and responding to disclosures workshop for club leaders – this session builds the capacity of leaders to speak up against disrespectful attitudes and behaviours. It will teach the core elements of responding to someone disclosing an experience of sexism, bullying, sexual assault, or violence within the home.
2. Bystander action workshops for members – the 90min workshops build the capacity of members to stand up to disrespectful attitudes and behaviours. Workshops are generally delivered in place of a training and are for members 14 years and up.
3. Action plan implementation sessions­– up to 3 meetings of the club action group with The SAFV Centre to check in on the implementation of the action plan (developed in the first half of the program) and identify areas for further support.

All in is a whole-of-club program. A Club Action Group of 8-12 people from across the club is convened to lead the gender equality work. Representatives from the various groups within the club are encouraged to join including committee members, coaches, coordinators, captains, parents, and other engaged members from football and netball, and junior clubs if applicable. Active bystander workshops are delivered to all players 14 years and up and can be extended to include parents and social members upon request.