Want to be #MoreThanASpectator? Here’s your chance to make a difference.

For the second consecutive year, the Carlton Football Club will actively support the ‘16 Days of Activism’, through its 16 Day awareness raising campaign.

Running from Saturday 25 November until Sunday 10 December, the global campaign symbolically begins on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and concludes on International Human Rights Day.  

16 Days of Activism, which originated from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991, links to the Club’s work around CARLTON RESPECTS and gender equality. Both campaigns are synonymous with the colour orange – representing a future free from violence against women and girls.

To mark the beginning of the 16 days, the Blues held a whole-of-club morning tea on Friday.


The Carlton Football Club is actively supporting 16 Days of Activism for the second consecutive year. (Photo: Carlton Football Club)

Everyone who attended the function, including players and staff, as well as corporate donors of the Blues Foundation and CARLTON RESPECTS program, had the pleasure of hearing from the inspiring Director, Practice Leadership, Our Watch, Patty Kinnersly and Carlton FC GM – People, Community, Diversity and Inclusion, Amanda Barker, announced the 2018 Carlton Respects games, adding the first ever AFLW game dedicated to gender equality for the prevention of family violence.


Carlton's AFLW players Nicola Stevens and Madeline Keryk chat to guest speaker Patty Kinnersly and Master of Ceremonies Shelley Ware at the morning tea. (Photo: Carlton Football Club)

Carlton’s AFL and AFLW players, along with coaches and staff, will be pledging their support towards gender equality – and the Club would love its members and supporters to do the same.

With your help, the Club will build a wall of activism, made up of each and every pledge. Click here to sign your name and stand with us to help end violence against women.

To spread the message, make sure you use the hashtag #MoreThanASpectator and #CarltonRespects on social media, and keep a look out for pledges relating to this very important campaign – Carlton players, Blues Foundation Ambassadors and corporate donors will all be getting behind the cause via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Let’s all work together to reduce these alarming statistics:

  • Every 2 minutes, family violence results in a police call-out across Australia 
  • 1 in 4 Australian women has experienced physical or sexual violence from a partner
  • Aboriginal women are 11 times more likely to die as a result of family violence
  • Women with disabilities are 40% more likely to be the victims of family violence than women without disabilities 
  • Exposure to violence harms the behavioural and emotional development of children
  • 32.7% of LGBTI Australians report experiencing intimate partner violence
  • 1 in 19 Australian men has experienced physical or sexual violence from a partner
  • 37.5% of women accessing domestic violence support services are of non-english speaking backgrounds.

If you or someone you know experience family violence help is available:

In an emergency, call 000.

Call 1800 RESPECT – 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.

The national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. 24/7 phone and online services.