A study into female Aussie rules umpires has uncovered a culture of sexual harassment, misogyny and spectator abuse that is driving women away from officiating in the sport.
The study from the University of Sydney looked at the experiences of women and girls at lower league level to try and determine why female umpires were still in a vast minority in the sport.
Women represent just 10.8 per cent of umpires in Aussie rules and only 2.6 per cent of umpires at AFL level.
Some of the female participants in the study recalled incidences of sexual harassment, including being sent unsolicited nude photos by fellow umpires, and overhearing comments from male umpires about their breasts.
Others retold stories of racist abuse from spectators and having to change in front of older, male umpires before games.
Researcher and former AFLW umpire Victoria Rawlings said sexual harassment was a common theme among the responses of participants.
"Girls in our study talked about being sent unsolicited nudes, they would often be targeted by inappropriate touching, there were comments about them that they overheard," Dr Rawlings said.
"Basically being told they weren't good enough to be umpires, that they weren't good enough to do particular games — it happened in all aspects of their umpiring."
The study interviewed female umpires from community and state league level, but contains a foreword from female AFL umpire Eleni Glouftsis, who was subjected to abusive comments after her AFL debut.
"In reading this research, I felt frustrated that girls and women in umpiring roles are still facing the same obstacles and challenges that I faced almost 16 years ago; I had hoped things would have improved. They certainly should have," she said.
Former vice-president of the Western Bulldogs Football Club Susan Alberti said the report was refreshing to see and long overdue.
Ms Alberti said many female umpires she has mentored have had their reports of abuse ignored by governing bodies.
"They haven't been taken seriously, they've been more or less told to go away," Ms Alberti said.
"It's because they are made to feel very unwelcome, the facilities are not there, and they're not treated with respect."
Ms Alberti said action needed to be taken immediately to prevent a widespread exodus of umpires from the sport.
"Who would want to do a job when you're abused and not treated with the respect that you certainly do deserve," she said.
"If we don't have umpires, we don't have sport. We don't have a game."
Female umpires driven from the sport
One participant interviewed for the study said she quit umpiring at state league level because of the behaviour of her fellow umpires.
"Umpires during games would inappropriately touch me, like when we're umpiring together and things like that. So, that's what made me quit," she said.
Another said having to share a change room with male umpires was akin to "getting changed with grandpa".
Participants also recounted stories of abuse from parents, coaches and spectators during games.
One female umpire said she was often targeted with racist abuse from spectators.
"When I used to run and I was a boundary umpire, a lot of people used to be like, 'run n****r run!' And they often scream that from the side," she said.
Another said she gave a coach from one of the games she was umpiring a red card after gendered abuse during the match.
"I was umpiring one time and I had this really rude coach who ended up coming on the field and saying, 'I don't want you to umpire, you're a female, you can't umpire'," she said.
AFL yet to respond to report's findings
In her report, Dr Rawlings said the negative experiences of many female umpires were contributing to a nationwide shortage of game-day officials across the sport.
"Overwhelmingly, this study has demonstrated that girls and women in umpiring navigate experiences where they are indirectly or directly told that they do not belong or deserve to be in umpiring," the report said.
The report also found that the emergence of the AFLW had not resulted in a boost to the number of girls and women taking up umpiring or being promoted to higher leagues.
"Many of the participants really valued the AFLW and seeing that there were women playing football and sometimes there were women umpiring in the AFLW and that meant a lot to them," Dr Rawlings said.
"As time has gone on, that pathway has been eroded — the AFLW, for different types of reasons, has not necessarily privileged girls and women in that space."
The report recommended the game implement education initiatives that focus on gender equity and preventing harassment, violence and sexism.
It also called for a centralised reporting tool so women could better report harassment and discrimination, and the adoption of inclusive change room policies.
Dr Rawlings presented her report to the AFL in August last year but said she was not aware of any moves the body had made to address the report's findings.
"Findings indicate that there are systemic, institutional issues with supporting women and girls in umpiring, regardless of region or level, which negatively impact the experiences and numbers of females in umpiring," the review said.
"Report recommendations are required to be actioned to increase the number of females involved in umpiring and help address the overall umpire shortfall."
