Alarming research finds one in three sportsmen are victims of abuse at grassroots level

Racial abuse is rising at alarming rates at community sports events but two thirds of victims are too scared to report it, new research has revealed.

Community sport continues to be plagued by racism a new report has revealed.

Community sport continues to be plagued by racism with a new report revealing that more than half of Australians surveyed exposed at the grassroots level.

The concerning findings into the community sport sector found in a survey lead by Monash University, revealed that 30 per cent of participants have been victims of racial abuse with a further 26 per cent witnessing it on the field.

Lead researcher Professor Ruth Jeanes said the findings reveal racism isn’t limited to “isolated incidents” but is far more prevalent across the sector.

“These numbers show racism is occurring regularly in community sport, with incidents ranging from overt abuse to subtle exclusion and bias,” she said.

The survey also found that the vast majority of racist incidents occurred during a game with 83 per cent of attacks coming from opposition players.

Almost one third of participants have been victims of racial abuse with a further 26 per cent witnessing it on the field.

Centre for Multicultural Youth and CMSport CEO Carmel Guerra OAM said they are working to “proactively tackle the issue of racism” in community sport.

“The findings give a really clear picture of the prevalence of racism in community sport in Australia, which is sadly unsurprising to us and echoes what multicultural youth have been telling us.”

Alarmingly two thirds of those respondents did not report their experiences out of fear they would be victimised or their complaints dismissed.

Of the minority or cases that were reported, satisfaction with the outcomes was low, with only a third content with the result, highlighting the need for change at the grassroots level.

The survey was performed in collaboration with Melbourne University, Victoria University and VicHealth and other institutions with more than 350 participants surveyed.

Originally published as Alarming research finds one in three sportsmen are victims of abuse at grassroots level