EDUCATION in sports clubs and mandatory consequences for perpetrators of violence are part of a push Mildura domestic violence victim Kim O’Reilly will take to Canberra next week.
Ms O’Reilly has been invited to Parliament House on Tuesday — and will sit in on Question Time — standing up for victims of gender violence.
She wants the White Ribbon round of club matches to mean clubs consistently stand against men’s violence towards women.
Several Sunraysia Football and Netball League and Millewa League clubs have shown interest in signing Ms O’Reilly’s proposed pledge to oppose violence, and Ms O’Reilly will advance that process after she meets Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese’s policy writer and a criminal barrister in Canberra.
Ms O’Reilly said in a rural community the impact and influence of a local sporting club was “massive”.
“In a country town you follow the trend of what’s happening, and with the sporting community.
“If they stand up and say (violence) is never OK and decide to educate … it’ll spill out to the community.
“And I think it’s important to call it a pledge because this isn’t something you just sign on a piece of paper.
“It’s an actual promise, acknowledgement and accountability that they’re pledging it to the club, and to their community — that they are going to do the right thing and they are going to uphold the respect and reputation of the club they play for.”
In Canberra, Ms O’Reilly has a full day of meetings planned, including NSW Senator Jenny McAllister and Member for Dunkley Peta Murphy.
“The more people I can speak to the better,” she said.
“The Sport Ministry is the best place to start and I want to speak to them about mandatory sentencing for this type of thing.
“Just like drink-driving or drugs and alcohol, there should be a certain sentence for a certain charge.
“I also want to address when people are out on bail or out on parole, how we can stop them from getting to their partner.”
To Ms O’Reilly, the support of leaders such as Member for Mildura Ali Cupper, has been “amazing”.
“It’s such a blessing to have someone like (Ms Cupper) on your side, knowing they’ve got your back 110 per cent without any question.
“She’ll see it through to the end with me, she’s very determined.”
Ms O’Reilly was struck multiple times by blows of “significant force” by her then partner in 2019, resulting in a fractured eye socket, bruising to her face, arms and upper chest and cracked teeth.
Some of Ms O’Reilly’s ideas for campaigning against men’s violence towards women include playing an educational video — including statistics, court outcomes, situational examples and other information — to players each year once they re-sign with clubs.
“It’s so people can understand why it’s being implemented in the first place and people can wrap their heads around it,” she said.
“Sometimes, if it hasn’t affected you directly, you might not really have an understanding of it.
Ms O’Reilly told Sunraysia Daily she was considering going to club information sessions herself to help educate sportspeople.
She admits the prospect of fronting clubs herself could be daunting.
“It’s not easy, but it’s something that I want to do, I want to get better at and there’s no one better to do it than someone who has experienced (violence).”
Ms O’Reilly is in consultation with AFL Victoria and is aiming to roll out the pledge to sporting organisations across the state.
