Addressing gender-based violence in sport: new research

New toolkit for safer sport released

A new Australian evidence-based toolkit aims to help sports organisations respond better to disclosures of gender-based violence. Safe to Speak, Bound to Act: A Toolkit for Safer Sport was created by a multi-disciplinary team from La Trobe University, The University of Sydney, and Victoria University Melbourne. The toolkit translates research and best-practice principles from health, trauma and violence-prevention sectors into a sports-specific context.

It sets out five core principles for good responses:

• making reporting easy
• having clear and fair policies
• supporting choice and autonomy
• responding with care and respect, and
• committing to ongoing improvement.

The toolkit includes resources such as scripts for responding to disclosures, checklists for organisational readiness and a clear roadmap outlining what a good response looks like from first disclosure through to follow-up and review.

For more information, see the Victoria University Melbourne news release: Australian sport still has a gender-based violence problem. Our new guide might help tackle it.

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Research to inform development of the toolkit

The toolkit followed research released in November 2025 as part of the team’s final report to the IOC Olympic Studies Centre: Addressing gender-based violence against women in sport: strengthening sports integrity units response to disclosures (ADVAWS).

The project brought together policy analysis, a systematic review, and interviews with both integrity practitioners and women and gender-diverse people who had experienced and attempted to report gender-based violence within Australian sport. The report found that gender-based violence against women is occurring in all levels of Australian sport. Despite growing public attention on the issue, current systems intended to protect women remain fragmented, difficult to navigate, and not gender-based violence-informed.

It found that the following solutions were needed:

• independent, gender-informed complaint pathways  
• expansion of Sport Integrity Australia’s remit to include adult gender-based violence
• clear, staged reporting processes with defined timelines and transparent communication
• trauma-informed supports, including welfare officers and links to counselling
• mandatory education and training for coaches, volunteers, and administrators
• meaningful accountability for individuals and clubs, not symbolic actions
• inclusive and accessible processes for gender-diverse people
• support for those responding to disclosures
• victim-survivor involvement in designing, testing, and reviewing systems, and
• data collection and public reporting to drive transparency and improvement.

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Related research

See below two other international toolkits and handbooks that aim to address gender-based violence in sport.

UN Women toolkit for sports ecosystem with a gender perspective (2025)

This toolkit is a practical resource developed by UN Women in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to support sports organisations and institutions in integrating gender equality across all levels of sports. It provides guidance, indicators, good practices, and pathways for action to accelerate progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 5.

Tackling violence against women and girls in sport: a handbook for policy makers and sports practitioners (2023)

This handbook released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UN Women along with the Spotlight Initiative. It calls on policy makers and sports practitioners to work together to address violence against women and girls in sport. The handbook offers a shared understanding of the problem, practical tools for addressing violence against women and girls in sport, and proposed areas for effective collaboration.

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Related news: Sports NZ withdraws guidance for inclusion of transgender people in community sport

In July 2025, the Government directed Sport NZ | Ihi Aotearoa to remove their document Guiding Principles for the Inclusion of Transgender People in Community Sport - Sport NZ 2022 from their website. This followed Government direction to review and update these guidelines in October 2024. Te Kāhui Tika Tangata | Human Rights Commission condemned the government’s move in a press release:

“It is a sad day when the government directs the kaitiaki of our play, active recreation, and sport system in Aotearoa New Zealand to withdraw the Guiding Principles for the Inclusion of Transgender People in Community Sport and remove the document from their website.”

In November 2025, Auckland Pride filed for judicial review in the High Court over the Government’s direction to Sport NZ. Auckland Pride spokesperson Bhen Goodsir said in a press release that both the facts and the law in the case are clear.

“In documents released by the Minister, he has said he did not consider the Bill of Rights Act, the Human Rights Act or Sport NZ’s legal obligations when making this decision.”

Te Ngākau Kahukura, a partnership with Rainbow communities held within Ara Taiohi, have a key topic guide on Sports Inclusion for Rainbow participation in sport.