Background
The Tackling Consent program is being evaluated as part of the Partners in Prevention of Sexual Violence Project, which is funding nine community organisation and their prevention of sexual violence programs. Centre Against Violence has developed the program, which has then gone through a 6-month development process with the research team at La Trobe University, which has included developing a rigorous evaluation plan. The Tackling Consent program is designed for regional and rural junior sports clubs, players, parents, mentors and coaches.
Aim
The program aims to improve young people’s understanding, attitudes, and behaviours related to sexual violence and harmful sexual behaviours within sporting club environments to foster a culture of respect and safety.
Methods
The evaluation will use a case study design as part of a whole-of-Club approach, and it will include quantitative and qualitative data collection.
The design includes:
>Interviews
>Pre-and post surveys
>Club profiles
Significance
he Tackling Consent program, led by the Centre Against Violence (CAV), engages junior sporting clubs as critical environments for cultural change in the prevention of sexual violence. While sport is often recognised for its influence on youth development, a lot still needs to be done to systematically engage sporting environments as settings for sexual violence prevention. This program deliberately disrupts that gap, delivering a prevention model that is embedded, community-led, and responsive to the specific power dynamics present in sporting cultures. Evaluation of the program will focus not only on behavioural change, but also on club safety and the impacts of the program on club culture. As such, the insights generated from this evaluation will be valuable not only for violence prevention practitioners but for policymakers seeking to expand the reach of primary prevention initiatives. The findings may inform future state and national strategies on consent education, particularly those aiming to reach disengaged or under-served young people. Tackling Consent also has the potential to reframe what effective sexual violence prevention looks like, moving beyond curriculum content to whole-of-environment approaches. By embedding respectful relationships within the fabric of the sporting clubs, the program advances the design and implementation of sexual violence interventions whilst offering a model that is scalable, context-specific, and capable of long-term cultural impact.
Funding Body
La Trobe University and Department of Social Services
Project start date
May 2025
Expected completion date
December 2026 
