A CAREER transcending football.
Carlton star forward Tayla Harris has been named among the 17 nominees for Victoria's 2021 Australian of the Year Awards.
It’s the second community-minded award Harris has been recognised for, the dominant forward and boxer nominated ahead of the weekend’s 2020 Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award.
The recognition comes after Harris took the conversation on gender equality and violence against women into her own hands after being subjected to gender-based abuse online in 2019.
Harris took a strong public stand in the wake of the trolling but hitting back at commenters was the kickstart to a year of advocacy and discussion around how we can go further to prevent online abuse in real time.
Her commitment to activism has been unwavering and this year she took a lead-role in engaging with the Club’s Carlton Respects Schools Program, while also embracing a new, voluntary ambassadorial role with Our Watch.
Our Watch was established to drive nation-wide change in the culture, behaviours and power imbalances that lead to violence against women and their children – a key alignment for the high-profile Blue.
A key contributor in both roles, Harris took her engagement a step further with by reaching out to Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, The Hon. James Merlino, calling for all Australians to understand the importance of preventing gender-based abuse online as someone who has experienced it first-hand.
Topping off an incredible year of activity around the issue, Harris recently co-authored a book with Our Watch – More Than a Kick details her experience with gender-based online abuse and provides advice on how to deal with it.
Despite the tremendous energy Harris poured into community efforts over the year, the forward continued what has been a standout AFLW career: Harris kicked a goal in all of her seven games in Navy Blue, producing her best return on goals and marks per game in her career so far.
