Welcome to the NSW Safer Sport Toolkit. Funded by the NSW Office of Sport, it helps State Sporting Organisations and clubs across NSW respond to adult gender-based violence.
Explore the resources below.
It is based on the National Toolkit, Safe to Speak, Bound to Act.
-
Each SSO and club has a vital role to play in responding to gender-based violence and supporting members to navigate disclosures of such violence. Together, we can make sport a safe space for all those wanting to participate.
We understand that responding to disclosures of gender-based violence can feel challenging, especially when these things happen within local and often tight-knit communities. These resources are designed to help you in your planning, prevention of and response to instances of gender-based violence. We also provide some NSW-specific resources and support services that can provide further specialist support as needed.
This NSW Toolkit is based on Safe to Speak, Bound to Act, an evidence-based, survivor-informed toolkit developed by Safer Sport to help sporting organisations and clubs respond safely and effectively to disclosures and reports of gender-based violence. It draws on research, policy analysis, and interviews with policy developers and with women and gender-diverse people who have experienced gender-based violence in sport. Visit the National Toolkit.
-
For gender-based violence in sport involving anyone under the age of 18, please visit Sport Integrity Australia's child safeguarding page.
Respond now
Responding in the moment to adult gender based violence
This resource is to support you with the immediate actions to take when someone discloses they have experienced gender-based violence.
-
Find a private space; ask if they would like a support person with them when they tell you what has happened.
-
Go through the LIVES process
-
Provide local and national support links/handouts and formal reporting info, including club policies, member protection officers, and SSO resources.
Make sure the person feels safe and heard, present them with their options and respect the choices they make.
What to say
How to respond when someone discloses gender-based violence:
-
Tell them what to do: let them decide.
-
Promise outcomes.
-
Repeat the disclosure to anyone else without consent.
Avoid making them feel like it was their fault and avoid making the person repeat what happened to them many times.
What NOT to say
The words you should avoid saying, and why:
Click to upload your logo
PNG or JPG — for best results use a PNG with a transparent background
👆 Drag your logo to reposition it
Position and resize the logo once, on any page — it's applied automatically to all 3 pages of this resource.
Download your resources to get your branded, print-ready files.
Respond
Defining Gender-Based Violence
Gender-Based Violence in Sport and its Impact
Gender-based violence takes many forms in sport, and understanding what it is, what it looks like and who it affects is the first step to preventing it.
Sport is at the heart of Australian society and culture. It brings communities together and offers many ways to participate – through playing, volunteering, officiating, or managing. It can also inspire excellence.
But sport is also a place where gender-based violence happens – from subtle forms of exclusion and disrespect to harassment, intimidation, and abuse. This happens to women and gender diverse people across all levels of sport and all forms of participation.
In this toolkit, gender-based violence refers to any harm, including physical, sexual, psychological, or economic, perpetrated against a person based on their gender identity or perceived gender, that is rooted in unequal power relations and societal norms. While gender-based violence is an umbrella term that can also include violence against men and boys who do not conform to dominant masculine norms, our focus is on gender-based violence against women and gender-diverse individuals reflecting how they face disproportionate power imbalances and harm.
Gender-based violence in sport spans a broad range of behaviours: from gendered jokes, body-shaming, and social exclusion, to sexual harassment, physical abuse, and rape.
Gender-based violence in sport includes examples such as:
- Verbal abuse: sexist jokes, body-shaming, name-calling.
- Emotional abuse: forced weigh-ins, restrictive diets, pressure to conform to appearance standards.
- Sexual harassment and assault: unwanted touching, coercion, threats, rape.
- Exclusion and intimidation: sidelining women and gender diverse people from leadership, decision-making, or team activities.
These behaviours affect athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, and administrators from grassroots clubs to elite competitions.
GBV
Club Resources
Six Steps to Guide Your Response
Use these steps to guide a club-level response when someone discloses an experience of gender-based violence.
Someone has disclosed
Respond using the LIVES approach
Are you aware of the steps associated with a formal complaint and what that entails?
go to
step 4
Describe the process for making a complaint, and what it entails.
- Allow them to choose what to do next.
- Could this be a police matter? If so, ask whether they would like police support now or later.
Does the individual want to proceed to formal complaint?
go to
step 6
Are you the complaints officer or the person responsible for club investigations?
Core Principles for a Good Response
This resource explains what you should be doing as part of a good response to disclosures of adult gender-based violence. It can also be used to assist in post-incident reflection.
Put the person disclosing first
-
Make sure the person feels safe, respected, and in control.
You can ask them about safety (do they want to move to a different space to talk to you or have a support person present). Use your language to convey respect, avoid judgment, and acknowledge their right to make decisions about what happens next.
-
Work with them, not around them.
Work with them by listening to their views and presenting all the options for next steps. They will have the choice to proceed to the next step.
Use the LIVES approach
This is a simple way to give first‑line support:
Do no harm
- Avoid victim-blaming language
- Validate what they tell you (say you believe them)
- Be transparent about what any formal complaints and investigation processes may look like
Respect cultural safety
- Make sure your response is respectful of different cultures. For example, First Nations women may prefer to speak with services like 113YARN, or you may need to engage a translator service to assist where English is not their first language. Avoid assumptions by asking what supports would feel culturally safe for them, and consider how culture, faith, community connections, and past experiences may influence the person's needs and decisions.
Know your role
Your role in responding to gender-based violence is really important. Your role is to:
- listen and support
- follow your club’s policies and reporting processes (if necessary/desired)
- seek guidance from the relevant person in your club such as an MPIO or safeguarding officer, or reach out to your SSO or NSO for further support.
-
focus on supporting the person rather than trying to solve the situation yourself
It's okay not to have all the answers. Being a trusted, supportive first point of contact can make a significant difference. You do not need to have all the answers. You are not expected to provide counselling or manage everything on your own.
How is your club positioned to respond?
This resource is to ensure that your Club is ready to respond to disclosures of adult gender-based violence.
Policy
We have clear, victim-survivor-centred*, and accessible policies
Preparedness
We have club volunteers who are trained in safe, trauma-informed responses
Process
Our club has clear reporting and escalation procedures
*A survivor-centred policy is one that uses language, processes, and practices that prioritise the safety, dignity, autonomy, and wellbeing of the person who has experienced harm, ensuring their needs and choices remain central to all responses and decision-making.
Click to upload your club logo
PNG or JPG — for best results use a PNG with a transparent background
👆 Drag your logo to reposition it
This is the logo's width as a % of the resource's own width. Position and size will automatically carry over to the other same-size resources.
Download your resources to get your branded, print-ready files.
Club
SSO Resources
Steps to Guide Your Response
Use these steps to guide an SSO-level response when someone discloses an experience of gender-based violence.
What to do when you receive a disclosure or a notification of a disclosure (for example, a complaint)
- If someone has disclosed to you directly in person or over email, follow the Responding in the moment resource.
- Respond using the Core Principles to Follow.
- Check whether this is a matter for the Police and whether the person who has made the complaint would like to go to the police.
Is your Sport signed up to the National Integrity Framework?
If unclear, contact your NSO and, as needed, SIA
Core Principles to follow in responding to gender-based violence
This resource sets out the framework for a good response to a disclosure of gender-based violence of adults. Use this to underpin education and training, policy development and implementation, and capacity building across affiliated clubs. It can also be used to in post-incident reflection.
Put the person disclosing first
-
Make sure the person disclosing feels safe, respected, and in control.
Build trust and provide choices about what happens next.
-
Work with them, not around them.
Recognise that adults have the right to make their own decisions about the support they access and the actions they take.
Use the LIVES approach
This is a simple way to give first‑line support:
Do no harm
- Avoid victim-blaming language
- Validate what they tell you (say you believe them)
- Be transparent about any limits, investigations, or complaint processes.
Key message for your clubs: A supportive first response can strongly influence whether someone seeks further help. Reinforce these principles through club education and integrity staff induction.
Respect cultural safety
Ensure your response respects different cultures. Ask what support feels culturally safe and consider how culture, faith, community, language, and lived experience may shape the person's needs and choices. Where appropriate, connect people with culturally appropriate services, such as 13YARN or a regulated interpreter.
Key message for your clubs: People experience and respond to violence differently. Tailor your response to each person's needs and circumstances.
Know your role
Club volunteers and officials are not counsellors, or family violence specialists. Their role is to:
- •Listen.
- •Support immediate safety and wellbeing.
- •Follow club and sport policies.
- •Connect people with appropriate services.
- •Seek advice when needed.
SSO should:
- •Provide guidance and training.
- •Support clubs in complex situations.
- •Maintain referral pathways.
- •Connect clubs with specialist expertise.
Key message for your clubs: You don't need all the answers. Respond supportively and know when to seek help.
As an SSO, how is your club positioned to respond?
This resource provides a checklist across five key areas to ensure that, as an SSO, you are prepared to support clubs in responding to disclosures of gender-based violence of adults. Use these as a self-reflection guide to think about what elements your organisation has covered and what could be some focus areas for improvement.
Policy
Preparedness
People
Process
Pathways
*A survivor-centred policy is one that uses language, processes, and practices that prioritise the safety, dignity, autonomy, and wellbeing of the person who has experienced harm, ensuring their needs and choices remain central to all responses and decision-making.
Click to upload your SSO logo
PNG or JPG — for best results use a PNG with a transparent background
👆 Drag your logo to reposition it
This is the logo's width as a % of the resource's own width. Position and size will automatically carry over to the other same-size resources.
Download your resources to get your branded, print-ready files.
SSO
Watch the Video
Responding to Disclosures of Gender-Based Violence in Sport
Learn more about the Toolkit and download it here.
Need immediate support or advice?
This resource provides details of local and national support services that you can share with the person who is disclosing gender-based violence.
Provides counselling and referrals to women experiencing domestic violence. When you call the Domestic Violence Line, the call will be answered by a trained female caseworker. The caseworker will be sensitive to the needs of women who have experienced domestic violence. You can ring as often as you need to at any time, day or night.
Trauma specialist counselling to people of all genders who have experienced sexual, domestic and family violence, as well as their friends, colleagues and family members.
For anyone in NSW who has been impacted by sexual violence, recently or in the past. Provides professional trauma specialist counsellors and referrals.
NSW Health Sexual Assault Services are located in all local health districts across NSW. They provide free services including crisis counselling, information and support, medical care and forensic examination, ongoing counselling, group work and court preparation and support for anyone who has been sexually assaulted.
A 24/7 telephone service that receives information from reporters and undertakes assessment of information on child protection concerns.
Support for migrant and refugee women within NSW experiencing domestic and family violence.
Provide help with domestic violence, sexual assault, divorce and separation, parenting and children, financial abuse, discrimination, harassment, underpayment at work, support for victim-survivors and more.
Provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children in NSW with a gender-specific service sensitive to their culturally diverse needs, and provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women victims-survivors of violence with access to appropriate legal representation, advocacy, advice, and referral.
To get professional help and advice for your mental health.
ACON provides specialist Care Coordination and Counselling support, information and referral services to LGBTQ+ people who have experienced sexual, domestic and family violence. This is a short-term service that helps people to access the supports and services to build safety and improve their mental and physical wellbeing, including health, social, financial and legal support services.
Twenty10 is a NSW based service supporting LGBTIQA+ young people aged 12-25 across housing, counselling, and social support. They are also the state-based partner for QLife, the national peer support service.
Counselling and support service for people impacted by domestic, family or sexual violence.
24/7 support for First Nations people — a crisis support line for mob who are feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty coping.
LGBTIQ+ peer support and referral for people wanting to talk about sexuality, gender, bodies, feelings or relationships.
For men using violence — counselling, information and referral service for men who have chosen to use violence and want to change.
Click to upload your logo
PNG or JPG — for best results use a PNG with a transparent background
👆 Drag your logo to reposition it
This is the logo's width as a % of the resource's own width.
Download your resource to get your branded, print-ready file.
Proudly funded by the NSW Office for Sport