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Position statement on harassment-free sport

The Department of Sport and Recreation advocates for sport and recreation settings which are harassment-free and encourage greater participation by Western Australians.

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Position Statement Behaviours including discrimination, ribbing, exclusion based upon factors not related to the sporting activity and verbal abuse are considered inappropriate and constitute harassment by legal definition. 

There are many legal and ethical reasons as to why providers of sport and recreation services and facilities need to ensure participants are not discriminated against. Often harassment and discrimination go unnoticed, or some groups have become conditioned to them so they become part of the social and cultural norms of the sport.

There are specific behaviours (e.g. unwelcome sexual propositions) which may be considered offensive by the recipient, hence constitute harassment or discrimination and in some instances these may be against the law.

The objective of a harassment-free sport policy is to provide a safer environment for all Western Australians to participate in sport and recreation. Effective mechanisms and procedures need to be developed by sport and recreation groups to prevent and/or manage incidents of harassment and discrimination.

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) has developed a set of resources to support harassment free sport that has been endorsed by all state/territory governments.

 

 
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