Words Matter
Published: August 21, 2026
Blog
Australia's response to the recent Sydney Swans sexual assault allegations has become about more than a football club, a police investigation, or a media cycle. It has become a conversation about language, accountability, and how we talk about violence against women.
Let me be clear, this is not a new conversation. In fact, for those of us working to prevent violence against women it is a conversation that has been going on for far too long, but perhaps this moment represents a long overdue turning point.
No charges have been laid and the investigation remains ongoing. But the intense public backlash to comments from club leadership and sections of the sporting media highlights something prevention advocates have been saying for years, the words we choose matter.
When Sydney Swans CEO Matthew Pavlich said the club was "extremely shocked and disappointed that this has taken place and that the players have found themselves in this situation", many immediately questioned the framing. The language was crafted to position the players as the people most affected, while failing to acknowledge player agency and completely eliminating the person who was allegedly assaulted.
This is not a question of semantics. It is about whose experience is centred and whose is overlooked.
In a country where one in five women has experienced sexual violence since the age of 15, language shapes public understanding of what we have all acknowledged is a national crisis. The way we describe allegations, respond to harm, and communicate accountability sends powerful signals about whose safety matters and whose voices are heard.
The backlash online and across mainstream media reflects a growing public refusal to accept language that appears to minimise serious allegations or distance individuals from responsibility. Terms like "incident" and phrases like "found themselves in this situation" soften the gravity of what is being investigated and remove agency from those players involved.
For many people working in violence prevention, I understand that this moment feels familiar. For decades, victim-survivors, women's advocates, educators, researchers and community leaders have pushed for cultural change. They have argued that we can’t simply respond to violence after it occurs, we must also challenge the attitudes, norms and narratives that allow it to persist.
Recently, the calls for cultural change have been paired with commentary asking men to step in, to make change, to lead.
Voices such as Tarang Chawla's have been particularly important in that conversation. Chawla, whose advocacy is grounded in lived experience and years of work on legislative and cultural reform, has consistently argued that men must take responsibility for challenging other men. His message around these sexual assault allegations and the resulting media storm has been direct: no individual, regardless of talent, status or commercial value, should be considered more important than another person's humanity. Accountability, not excuses, must become the standard. Clubs and leaders must do the work to make change.
Former AFL player Mitch Brown has also captured the frustration many Australians are feeling, criticising commentators who have focused solely on football consequences while sidelining allegations of sexual violence. Brown has pointed to a broader cultural problem within sport and its media ecosystem. His commentary reflects the growing expectation that influential men use their platforms to advocate for respect, responsibility and change.
These are the kinds of voices that provide an alternative, demonstrate leadership and drive change.
Sport remains one of Australia's most powerful cultural institutions. The messages delivered by sporting leaders, journalists and players carry enormous influence. When respected men model accountability, empathy and respect for women, they help shape healthier community attitudes.
For me, the challenge, and indeed the opportunity, now extends well beyond the Sydney Swans and AFL. Leaders in business, sport, community organisations, politics and media all have a role to play.
We are not navigating without a map here. Prevention bodies have spent years developing evidence-based approaches to reducing gender-based violence. But what I think is too often missing is the courage and collective leadership required to turn that understanding into real, broad and meaningful action.
That is why this moment matters.
The public response demonstrates that we are paying attention not only to what organisations do, but also to what they say. There is a growing expectation that organisations acknowledge potential harm, centre victim-survivors and communicate with care and accountability.
The broader discussion that this matter has sparked presents an opportunity, and it’s up to us to grab it and continue to demand more.
Let’s make this the moment that leaders stop treating language as a public relations exercise and start recognising it as a reflection of values. Let’s make this the moment when we finally decide that preventing violence against women is our collective priority. Let’s make this the moment where we do the work, take the action and be the culture change we so desperately need.
https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/1-5-women-have-experienced-sexual-violence
https://www.ourwatch.org.au/change-the-story/change-the-story-framework
https://www.respectvictoria.vic.gov.au/men-need-to-talk-about-violence-against-women