Eighty-two per cent of people sampled in a study conducted by Victoria University have reported experiencing at least one form of interpersonal violence when participating in community sport as a child.
Key points:
Three-quarters of respondents said they had experienced psychological violence or neglect in children’s sport
Seventy-three per cent experienced violence from their peers, and 66 per cent said they had from a coach
Women experienced higher rates of sexual and psychological violence, as well as neglect
The survey, which is the most comprehensive of its kind in Australia, asked 886 adults whether they had experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence, as well as neglect, from either coaches, peers or parents during childhood.
Seventy-six per cent said they had experienced psychological violence or neglect, 66 per cent reported physical violence and 38 per cent reported sexual violence.
One in three respondents, meanwhile, said they had experienced all four forms of violence.
The respondents had participated in a large variety of sports, with nearly 70 represented.
Seventy per cent of respondents experienced physical and psychological violence from a peer. (Designed by The Infologist for Victoria University)
While such large numbers may come as a surprise to some, study co-author Mary Woessner said she was not shocked.
“From the literature, and knowing what’s happening internationally, I would say that’s right about what we were expecting,” Dr Woessner told the ABC.
“One of the first things you need to create change, positive change, is generate understanding that there’s a problem.
“We just want people to know it exists, so we can make evidence-based decisions to change it.”
Dr Woessner’s co-author, Aurélie Pankowiak, explained that the survey asked participants about explicit examples of violence they may have experienced in a sporting context.
Aurélie Pankowiak co-authored the study with Mary Woessner.(ABC News: Andie Noonan)
For neglect, for example, participants were asked if they had experienced being refused time off for medical injuries.
For psychological, participants were asked whether they had been insulted, threatened or humiliated (for example by being bullied, given an unwanted nickname violence or otherwise ostracised).
“We had very concrete examples of different types of violence, so we did not leave it up to the person’s interpretation of whether or not what they experienced was violent,” Dr Pankowiak said.
Queensland’s Transport Minister has described Brisbane City Council’s latest vision for a new toll road to relieve congestion in the city’s north-west as a “feeble fantasy” and a “farce”.
Key points:
A study into solutions for Brisbane’s north-west transport corridor has drawn a fierce reaction from the Queensland government
Brisbane City Council conducted the study which recommends two tunnels
Transport Minister Mark Bailey says the state wasn’t consulted on the study
The six-lane tunnel, which would run between Bald Hills and connect with the Airport Link at Kedron, was part of the outcome of a $10 million federally-funded study undertaken over two years by the council.
It found northern Brisbane’s annual congestion and public transport crowding was costing $312 million per year.
That would rise to $538.5m by 2031 and $859m by 2041.
The study found significant community opposition towards any surface road or rail development through the North West Transport Corridor, which had been reserved by the state government since the 1980s.
Mr Bailey says the council had to cancel big projects yet released a study which recommended multi-billion-dollar road network infrastructure builds.(ABC News: Ashleigh Stevenson)
But Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the major toll road had been costed with “no funding, no consultation with other levels of government, and no idea how to fix congestion.”
He also criticized the council’s decision to cut projects in its June budget, citing the cost of rebuilding from February’s floods, yet unveil billions of dollars in new road infrastructure via the north-west transport study.
“Only a month ago, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner was saying the council was broke and had to cut a lot of projects citywide and now they have a plan to spend $25 billion on new tollways and motorways,” Mr Bailey said.
“It is very clear this tired 20-year-old council is out of touch and out of ideas.
Cr Schrinner has defended the study saying it offered solutions to a growing problem.(ABC News: Alicia Nally)
“Recently, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner cut the North Brisbane Bikeway, cut upgrades to Mowbray Park, and refused to pay a fair share for the Cooper Plains level crossing removal because they are so broke, and yet here he is spending like a drunken sailor with his ridiculous $14 billion toll road plan.
“The state government had no input into the study that was funded by the former Morrison Government despite the state government owning the corridor which shows what a farce this announcement is.
“The immediate focus should be on upgrading services on Gympie Road, which we are already doing through the $72 million Northern Transitway project which we are fully funded.
“The study entirely ignores that project.
“Tell the Lord Mayor he is dreaming.”
‘Doing nothing not an option’
Yet, Cr Schrinner said the council had “done some planning work to assist” in reducing congestion in a burgeoning part of the city.
He also hit back at the state for setting aside land and not using it to improve transport networks.
An artist’s impression shows a Gympie Rd precinct as part of north-west transport corridor improvement.(Supplied: Brisbane City Council)
“We’re concerned about what we see as a black hole for investment for infrastructure from the state government for the north-west suburbs,” Cr Schrinner said.
“That land was intended to be a transport corridor yet it has disappeared from any infrastructure plans and residents are asking what is going to happen in the north-western suburbs. The area is growing and there are no plans from the state government coming out.
