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Hakeem al-Araibi meets with prime minister Scott Morrison in Parliament House Canberra this morning. Thursday 14th February 2019. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Guardian Australia
When a sports fan cannot see women equally represented on its club’s board, in the coaching department or in commentary boxes, the message that women are “less than” is reinforced. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
When a sports fan cannot see women equally represented on its club’s board, in the coaching department or in commentary boxes, the message that women are “less than” is reinforced. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

We’ve been told sport and politics are separate, but mixing the two can save lives

This article is more than 5 years old

Craig Foster used the power of sport to help get Hakeem al-Araibi released. We can do more

This week Hakeem al-Araibi arrived in Melbourne after being detained and incarcerated by the Thai government since November 2018.

Much of the credit for his safe return to Australia is due to the advocacy of Craig Foster, known predominantly in Australia for his role as a footballer and now commentator. Football and the larger community of sports people and sports lovers have championed the campaign to #SaveHakeem.

The language of sport and the community of football gave passage for Foster to the places, people and platforms where negotiations and decisions were made.

In a statement made on the day of Hakeem’s release, Foster recognised the decision “gives us confidence in a more humane world that we wish to create together, in which we passionately believe sport can, and must, play a central role”.

The achievements of Foster and his team in securing the safe return of al-Araibi to Australia cannot be overstated. But Foster has also achieved another mighty shift.

This effort has relied on sport exercising its political muscle to achieve the outcome. It has done so with none of the usual criticism that sport should not be political. If you scroll through the #SaveHakeem hashtag, you see only messages of support for the cause.

It is not uncommon when sport courts social issues that we hear an argument that sport should not be political.

In the NFL Colin Kaepernick’s decision to “take a knee” in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and in protest of his country’s treatment of minorities has seen widespread derision, from the heights of the White House to the everyman on the bleachers.

Closer to home, articles and social posts about my code of choice, AFLW, receive a rolling thread of gender-based hate. It is my firm belief that these comments should be moderated and removed from public sight in hope of Foster’s “more humane world”.

I hear the dissenters scream for their right to free speech. But the problem is far greater than just expressing a dislike of the sport.

Consistent disrespect towards women, the stereotyping of gender and gender inequality sets the necessary social context which allows the murder of one woman a week in Australia.

These murders are preventable in a society that promotes respectful relationships with women and challenges gender stereotypes.

It is clear, obvious and factual that not all men perpetrate violence against women. Despite the best intentions in the home to educate and role model equity and respectful relationships towards women, that message is diluted by real world experiences.

When a sports fan cannot see women equally represented on its club’s board, in the coaching department or in commentary boxes, the message that women are “less than” is reinforced. It is only when we change the systems and the structures that endorse gender discrimination that we will see a change in the prevalence of violence against women.

Fiona Vines, global head of diversity and inclusion at BHP, is leading BHP in their endeavour for 50-50 gender representation in their organisation by 2025. When queried on the importance of changing attitudes or changing systems, Vines told the Outer Sanctum Podcast last year, that “if you can only do one thing, change the system because systems outlast people and systems can interrupt bias”.

Sport has the power to change the systems. Craig Foster used the power of sporting organisations and systems to bring about a humane outcome.

Violence Against Women may seem like a “women’s issue” but it is not. According to Price Waterhouse Coopers, the economic cost to triage and combat violence against women costs Australia over $21bn a year. The pervasive impact of gender discrimination affects the daily life of men and women across Australia. Yet for women the outcomes can be life ending.

This week we celebrate that sport and specifically the code of football was able to save the life of one man. It is also possible that together, through the platform of sport we can save the life of one woman a week.

  • Emma Race is an Our Watch Fellowship recipient and a member of the Outer Sanctum podcast.

  • 1800 RESPECT is the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling and information referral service.

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