WFNL Division 1 club Yarraville Seddon have just finished a training block of a different variety.
For the past five weeks both male and female players at the club have been going through consent training conducted by the Western Region Centre Against Sexual Assault (WestCASA).
It’s the second year that WestCASA have conducted training with Yarraville Seddon, and club president Angela Ballard said this year’s sessions were expanded to include under 18 players too.
“WestCASA’s training highlights how respectful behaviours, and in particular, respect for women, is everyone’s responsibility,” Ms Ballard said.
The evening sessions held after training at the Yarraville Oval clubrooms were conducted by WestCASA community trainers Warde Macintosh and Adrian Smith.
“It was a really great opportunity for us to get out into the community to educate as a means to prevent sexual violence,” said Mr Smith of the training sessions which had a particular focus on the concept of affirmative consent.
“It’s about the responsibility on everyone to make sure there is consent, not just verbal but body language, consent provided free of pressure and creating healthy relationships,” he explained.
“It was a really respectful, open discussion with lots of engagement which was great. Because the laws are evolving all the time it’s great to provide that education straight to the community.”
Mr Smith applauded Yarraville Seddon for their commitment to creating a culture of consent and respect within the club, saying the Eagles approached them about conducting the training sessions, the first football club to do so.
He hopes others follow, arguing sporting clubs provide the ideal platform for teaching about respect, consent and how to prevent gender based violence.
WestCASA chief executive Annette Vickery said with the disturbing rise in cases of sexual assault and family violence across Melbourne’s western suburbs and Australia as a whole, it’s education that’s urgently needed.
“WestCASA is continuing our important mission to support and advocate for victim/survivors of sexual assault and family violence while ramping up community education to support survivors and promote basic respect,” Ms Vickery said.
“WestCASA invites organisations across the western suburbs to get in touch about upskilling their workforce and members to better handle sexual assault disclosures, reduce the risk of assaults occurring and understand the path of a victim’s recovery.”
Organisations interested in exploring training options are invited to email training@westcasa.org.au or call (03) 9216 0444 to find out more.
