- West Coast Eagles men's team train in orange socks to show their support for 16 Days in WA
- Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Simone McGurk welcomes the club proactively taking a stand against violence and disrespect
The West Coast Eagles unveiled an eye-catching change to their usual preparations, with the men's team stepping out for pre-season training in brightly coloured orange socks in support of the 16 Days in WA campaign which calls for an end to violence against women.
Orange is the official theme colour of the 16 Days in WA campaign, with the Eagles players embracing the tagline of 'ending violence against women - it's everybody's business' by donning their orange socks for a second year in a row.
Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Simone McGurk met with the playing group, ahead of training, at the Eagles' headquarters in Lathlain to thank the club for taking a proactive stand on an important community issue.
The West Coast Eagles have been proud supporters of 16 Days in WA in recent years and in 2022, premiership defender Tom Barrass, AFLW star Jess Sedunary and AFLW senior coach Michael Prior joined the campaign as official Agents of Change.
The need for change is clear - in 2021-22 WA Police generated 44,705 family violence incident reports, at an average of one report every 12 minutes. Shockingly, over the same period, women were victims in 93 per cent of sexual assaults reported to WA Police. It simply must stop.
Earlier in this year's campaign, the State Government announced it will adapt its successful Respectful Relationships school program for the sport sector, complementing existing work underway by SportWest.
More information on 16 Days in WA, including the campaign kit, is available online.
As stated by Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Simone McGurk:
"It's fantastic to have the support of the West Coast Eagles for the 16 Days in WA campaign once again.
"West Aussies look up to their sporting heroes, and the West Coast Eagles are taking action by embracing the message that ending violence against women is everybody's business.
"I would urge leaders in every field to follow their example and take a stand - we all have a part to play in calling out disrespectful behaviour.
"While the 2022 campaign is drawing to a close, I would ask all Western Australians to join the call for an end to violence against women."
As stated by West Coast Eagles CEO Trevor Nisbett:
"We are proud to be able to shine the light on such an important social issue in our community - we all have a part to play, on and off the field.
"Sport is part of Australia's social fabric and presents an opportunity to engage with young people and the broader community at a grassroots level on how we can model respect as individuals and organisations.
"By supporting this campaign, the club can assist in addressing such a complex social problem such as violence against women and help the community effort to stamp out these behaviours across the State."
