CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses domestic violence.
While punters across the country gear up for the AFL Grand Final, for 29-year-old *Sophie, the AFL Grand Final bring a pit in her stomach, not excitement.
“My mum used to make us stay in our rooms every footy final. We didn’t know what was going on when we were kids, but I could remember a lot of screaming and yelling from my dad,” Sophie* told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“We’d come out the next day with shattered glasses everywhere, with my mum quite literally picking up the pieces. I started noticing she would get more bruises throughout each season as the years passed.
“I don’t have a relationship with my dad now, but I try to stay home with my cat and partner during finals weekend.”
Sophie is just one of many women who have experienced domestic violence during game time, with statistics showing Grand Final-related abuse spiking across Australia.
AFL brings a season of celebration and a spike in abuse
Family violence services see the stats every year and are bracing themselves for another Grand Final weekend surge. “There was a total of 796 family violence incidents during the three-day long weekend, up from 729 incidents the year before,” acting commissioner of the Family Violence Command, Sharon McKinnon, told P.TV.
That’s not an anomaly. “Police saw a nine per cent increase in family violence incidents over the Grand Final long weekend in September last year compared with 2023.”
According to Our Watch, Victoria Police brace themselves for a 20 per cent spike in violence against women ahead of Grand Final day.
Dr Kirsty Forsdike from La Trobe University notes that “data shows an increase in service use, police and ambulance call outs and hospital presentations during and after major sporting events for cases of domestic violence… even when a team wins, domestic violence rates can still rise. It’s the emotional salience and cultural connection to the sport that seem to drive it”.
Beyond booze and bets: The truth about the cause
Australian independent child and family welfare organisation, Berry Street, are upfront about what’s actually going on. “Family violence risk increases during major sporting events due to a mix of factors, including alcohol, gambling-related financial stress, and underlying gendered drivers of violence,” Berry Street deputy CEO Jenny McNaughton said.
“Men’s violence is caused by violent men, and a person’s choice to use violent and disrespectful behaviours is theirs alone. Alcohol doesn’t cause violence but can fuel it by lowering inhibitions and escalating harmful behaviour.”
If this sounds uncomfortably direct, it’s because the usual excuses just don’t cut it anymore. As Dr Amy Pennay from La Trobe put it, “Research shows that alcohol-related hospital admissions peak after marquee sporting matches, including the AFL Grand Final. There is a strong association between spectating AFL games and drinking alcohol and this includes drinking at the match, but also the home”.
It’s not just about the big leagues
The AFL’s responsibility in preventing domestic and family violence goes far beyond awareness campaigns around the Grand Final.
“Sporting clubs, community sports clubs need really important work for doing prevention work and speaking to particularly young men and boys,” Respect Victoria’s Jacquie O’Brien told P.TV. “They’re really important places to talk about how to do prevention work.”
Zero tolerance for sexist or homophobic slurs and genuinely modelling respect at club and league level could actually change lives. But organisations say the AFL’s leadership hasn’t measured up.
“AFL recently dragged their feet on not being able to penalise a player who had said some really derogatory homophobic slurs. That’s really bad. This feeds into a culture of violence,” as O’Brien bluntly put it.
“We’re really asking them to actually think about that really critically and about their role in terms of enabling safety across a whole bunch of community sports clubs, not just in Victoria, but right across the country because they do play a big role.”
What is the AFL doing to help mitigate their impact on violence?
The AFL has had minutes of silence for women lost to violence. They are also happy to hand out awards to individual players who do the work, like co-captain of the Brisbane Lions, Harris Andrews, who won an award at the Brownlow’s this year for his work as an ambassador for Beyond DV.
However, O’Brien challenges the league to do more. “What about the AFL? What about the massive millions of dollar infrastructure behind these players as well? What are they coming out and saying?” she asked.
“That would be amazing if we had the CEO of the AFL and the chair actually coming out and saying strong stuff and actually doing work, supporting family violence, gender violence organisations, but also getting really serious about preventing it.”
For many, nothing summed up the AFL’s priorities quite like booking Snoop Dogg — an artist with a track record of misogynistic and homophobic lyrics — as the Grand Final headline, despite loud community objections.
“It’s not so much about the issue of Snoop Dogg. It’s like, should you platform an artist who’s made a lot of money off misogynist, really misogynistic, quite violent lyrics in that sort of big family-friendly type event?” O’Brien said.
Respect Victoria were part of the 14 organisations who wrote a joint statement condemning the AFL’s choice to have Snoop Dogg perform at the Grand Final this year.
“We’ve heard nothing from the AFL and that’s really disappointing. I feel like it’s time for the AFL to start engaging with organisations that are doing this work on the ground and listening to them as well,” said O’Brien.
PEDESTRIAN.TV reached out to every AFL club in the league about what they’re actually doing this Grand Final season in the family violence space.
The silence was deafening.
The Gold Coast Suns did get back to us and highlighted their partnership with RizeUp, a local organisation providing support and safety to those escaping violence. Carlton also responded to P.TV, flagging their multi-year ‘Carlton Respects’ campaign that spotlights respectful behaviour and supports families through programs and fundraising. The club has also “partnered with response and recovery organisations Safe Steps and You Matter in the commitment to end family violence”.
But those teams were the exception, not the rule.
As McNaughton pointed out, “Clubs can support getting messages out to the community that potential perpetrators can do something themselves to stop the behaviour… given the number of men who are involved in sport, there is a bigger responsibility for sporting codes to ensure education and support opportunities are plentiful for these groups.”
PEDESTRIAN.TV also reached out to the AFL itself for comment, but have not received a response at the time of writing.
We will update this piece when we receive responses.
Practical advice for this weekend
If you or someone you know needs support, contact 1800RESPECT, Safe Steps, or call 000 in an emergency.
Safe and Equal also have practical advice. “Using violence is always a choice, and we need to make sure we don’t shift the blame from individuals who choose to perpetrate abuse, no matter the circumstances,” Tania Farha, CEO of Safe and Equal, told P.TV.
“While major sporting events can be a high-risk time for people experiencing family violence, they also present an opportunity for friends, family, neighbours and the broader community to step up and look out for each other,” she said.
“That can look like calling out sexist jokes, comments or behaviour at games or events. It can also look like reaching out and offering support to someone you think might be experiencing abuse… if they’re not ready to talk about it yet, that’s okay. Just by raising the issue and letting them know you’re there can plant the seed and make a huge difference to a victim survivor.”
As McNaughton adds, “If women have a feeling their domestic situation might become unmanageable, it’s best to remove themselves from it… and be aware of the resources that are available to support them, should a situation occur.”
Not just surviving Grand Final weekend
The people doing this work are tired of being ignored. They want the AFL to use its enormous influence to be honest about the violence happening in its shadow, and to show that setting the tone year-round is more than just symbolism.
The Grand Final is meant to be a time of joy and community. But for many, it’s something to survive — not celebrate. The AFL has more power than anyone to change that narrative. This weekend, the choice to create real, lasting cultural change is theirs.
Help is available.
If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
If you’re in distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or chat online.
Under 25? You can reach the Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
To speak to someone about domestic violence, including for help in leaving a violent relationship, please call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
*Names have been changed for anonymity.
Lead image: Getty Images
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