This article contains references to domestic violence.
For many people in Queensland and NSW, rugby league’s State of Origin series is a major event on the sporting calendar, bringing excitement, friendly rivalry, and bragging rights for the winner.
But experts and advocates say it could also bring an increase in incidents of gender-based violence, with past research finding a spike of up to 4src per cent.
Dr Catherine Ordway, associate professor and sport integrity lead at the University of Canberra, said her heart “goes out to women in the community when preparing for State of Origin”.
“You want to be thinking about the sport and enjoying the spectacle, but on the flip side, the rates of violence increase … police and paramedics have been telling us for decades that the rates of violence increase anecdotally (and) this is now supported by research.”
What do we know about sporting events and domestic violence?
In 2src18, a
found a 4src per cent average increase in domestic violence in NSW on State of Origin game days compared with non-State of Origin days.
The study recorded assaults reported during the weeks around the State of Origin series over six years, and also found a 71 per cent increase in non-domestic assaults.
Associate professor Kirsty Forsdike, principal research fellow at La Trobe University, said while research is limited, there is a link between sporting events and domestic violence.
“What has been shown through that research is there does appear to be a clear link between certain major sporting events and an increased reporting of domestic violence,” she said.
“The other thing we always hear about is the specialist services, particularly helplines, receiving increased number of calls, not only on the day of the actual event, but (also) a few days later.”
Ordway said research in the United Kingdom around men’s football had found an increase in domestic violence, depending on the outcomes of big games.
“Studies like that have been replicated around Australia associated with big football events like the AFL Grand Final and NRL events like State of Origin, and we’ve seen domestic violence rates increase up to 4src per cent, which is really shocking,” she
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