This FREE workshop is open to everyone. Sports club committees, sport associations, administrators, coaches, and umpires are especially encouraged to attend as the session will assist you in meeting Victorian Government Fair Access requirements but also equip you with an understanding of how you can help drive violence reduction not just in sport, but within the wider community.
The session will be co-presented by researchers in the sociology of sport, violence, and gender: Dr Kirsty Forsdike (Latrobe University) and Lisa Lymbery (Greater Shepparton City Council).
Australia is a sporting nation, and Greater Shepparton is no exception with sport participation considered a cultural rite of passage for many residents. There are numerous health and social benefits gained from taking part in sport for both individuals and the community as a whole; a fact which is regularly quoted as a selling point to encourage participation.
But there also exists some potentially detrimental aspects of sporting culture, one of those being the use of violence. Whilst violence increases the risk of injury, an acceptance of its use on the field has wide-reaching impacts on an Australian society that idolises athletes.
In this workshop we will explore the links between the history and culture of sport in Australia, and violence in our society. Through presentations and discussions, attendees will recognise the power that sport has to create a safer community for our residents.
This session is being provided as part of the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence events offered by Greater Shepparton City Council and Goulburn Integrated Family Violence Services Executive. It can be offered free to the community thanks to funding received by Greater Shepparton City Council for the Free from Violence Local Government Program (Victorian State Government), and Respect Victoria’s 16 Days of Activism grassroots initiative.
