Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (09:50): I rise to send my love, my support and my solidarity to the victim-survivor at the centre of the sexual assault allegations involving Sydney Swans players. What has been striking is how quickly the conversation has centred on the blokes – their careers, their football club and their teammates – and what this means for the AFL. That is not accidental. Her career, her safety and her future matter too, but that is barely even mentioned. We live in a culture where men’s careers and reputations are routinely treated as more important than women whose dignity and autonomy are violated. Despite that, this week the AFL CEO denied the league has a culture issue, but it is clear they only claim to care about gender equality as window-dressing for being complicit in a culture where misogyny, entitlement and disrespect towards women are minimised, excused or treated as just part of the football environment. Their denial of this is, ironically, another example of the culture problem itself. This is bigger than one team, and it is about more than just a few players. It is about the impact it has on all sporting clubs in our country – the locker room banter, the sexist jokes and the countless examples where women are expected to absorb the consequences of male behaviour while men are given endless opportunities for redemption. The AFL has enormous influence on men and boys in this country, and that influence comes with responsibility. It is not up to them to tell us if there is a culture issue; it is up to them to listen when we are already saying that there is.