Female football umpires abused, harassed, forced to change in front of male colleagues, report finds

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A study into female Aussie rules umpires has uncovered a culture of sexual harassment, misogyny and spectator abuse that is driving women away from officiating in the sport.

Key points:Women make up only 10.8 per cent of umpires across all levels and 2.6 per cent at AFL levelParticipants in the study reported being victims of sexual harassment, racist abuse and gendered discriminationThe AFL is yet to respond to the report’s findings

The study from the University of Sydney looked at the experiences of women and girls at lower league level to try and determine why female umpires were still in a vast minority in the sport.

Women represent just 10.8 per cent of umpires in Aussie rules and only 2.6 per cent of umpires at AFL level.

Some of the female participants in the study recalled incidences of sexual harassment, including being sent unsolicited nude photos by fellow umpires, and overhearing comments from male umpires about their breasts.

Other retold stories of racist abuse from spectators and having to change in front of older, male umpires before games.

Researcher and former AFLW umpire Victoria Rawlings said sexual harassment was a common theme among the responses of participants.

“Girls in our study talked about being sent unsolicited nudes, they would often be targeted by inappropriate touching, there were comments about them that they overheard,” Dr Rawlings said.

“Even in game-day scenarios, they might encounter talk or action that were sexually harassing or were diminishing of them as girls and women.

“Basically being told they weren’t good enough to be umpires, that they weren’t good enough to do particular games — it happened in all aspects of their umpiring.”

The study interviewed female umpires from community and state league level, but contains a foreword from female AFL umpire Eleni Glouftsis, who was subjected to abusive comments after her AFL debut.

“In reading this research, I felt frustrated that girls and women in umpiring roles are still facing the same obstacles and challenges that I faced almost 16 years ago; I had hoped things would have improved. They certainly should have,” she said.

Female umpires driven from the sport Eleni Glouftsis was the target of derogatory comments by the president of a country football team in Western Australia after her AFL umpiring debut.(AAP: Tracey Nearmy)

One participant interviewed for the study said she quit umpiring at state league level because of the behavior of her fellow umpires.

“Umpires during games would inappropriately touch me, like when we’re umpiring together and things like that. So, that’s what made me quit,” she said.

Another said having to share a change room with male umpires was akin to “getting changed with grandpa”.

“Old guys or old umpires just strip and they don’t give a shit,” she said.

Participants also recounted stories of abuse from parents, coaches and spectators during games.

One female umpire said she was often targeted with racist abuse from spectators.

“When I used to run and I was a boundary umpire, a lot of people used to be like, ‘run n****r run!’ And they often scream that from the side,” she said.

Another said she gave a coach from one of the games she was umpiring a red card after gendered abuse during the match.

“I was umpiring one time and I had this really rude coach who ended up coming on the field and saying, ‘I don’t want you to umpire, you’re a female, you can’t umpire’,” she said.

AFL yet to respond to report’s findings

In her report, Dr Rawlings said the negative experiences of many female umpires were contributing to a nationwide shortage of game-day officials across the sport.

“Overwhelmingly, this study has demonstrated that girls and women in umpiring navigate experiences where they are indirectly or directly told that they do not belong or deserve to be in umpiring,” the report said.

“While the AFL has stated that Australian football ‘is a game for everyone, no matter who you are or where you’re from’, it is clear that for many umpires, this is not the case.”

The report also found that the emergence of the AFLW had not resulted in a boost to the number of girls and women taking up umpiring or being promoted to higher leagues.

“Many of the participants really valued the AFLW and seeing that there were women playing football and sometimes there were women umpiring in the AFLW and that meant a lot to them,” Dr Rawlings said.

“As time has gone on, that pathway has been eroded — the AFLW, for different types of reasons, has not necessarily privileged girls and women in that space.”

Women and girls made up 10.8 per cent of Aussie rules umpires across the country, the report said.(Supplied: AFL NT)

The report recommended the game implement education initiatives that focus on gender equity and preventing harassment, violence and sexism.

It also called for a centralized reporting tool so women could better report harassment and discrimination, and the adoption of inclusive change room policies.

Dr Rawlings presented her report to the AFL in August last year but said she was not aware of any moves the body had made to address the report’s findings.

The AFL made reference to the report in March 2022 as part of a general review of umpire shortages in the sport.

“Findings indicate that there are systemic, institutional issues with supporting women and girls in umpiring, regardless of region or level, which negatively impact the experiences and numbers of females in umpiring,” the review said.

“Report recommendations are required to be actioned to increase the number of females involved in umpiring and help address the overall umpire shortfall.”

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