Football Victoria is proud to partner and work collaboratively with The Men’s Project on the Active Respect project which unequivocally aligns with our strategic objective to achieve 50:50 gender equity.
Football Victoria has a continued commitment to addressing the underlying gendered drivers of violence against women to bring about significant cultural change and greater respect across the football ecosystem. Utilising a primary prevention approach focussed on gender-based behaviours of young 14-17-year-old boys by engaging them in the equity conversation as prevention allies in their formative years is critically important in reducing habits and learned patterns of behaviours.
Active Respect gives 14-17 year-old boys and their football coaches leadership skills to challenge harmful expectations and social pressures with a style of play that’s active on respect – on and off the pitch.
During 2026, Active Respect will be delivered by The Men’s Project in partnership with Football Victoria. This is two-year pilot to trial the Coaching Boys Into Men (CBIM) model in Australia. CBIM is an internationally recognised violence prevention program with evidence showing CBIM can help build stronger, healthier teams and increase respectful behaviours. Evaluation of the program will help us understand how CBIM works for Australian boys and the best ways to support community clubs to deliver programs like this.
How it works
Active Respect builds on the powerful influence community sport has in young people’s lives. By working with clubs through a strengths-based curriculum, the program unlocks the leadership potential of coaches and their teams.
Co-designed and refined with coaches, Active Respect integrates season-long learning seamlessly into football training schedules. Coaches build practical skills and confidence to support their teams to challenge rigid Man Box norms through a pre-season CBIM Clinic that explores:
- Pressures that boys and men experience
- Harmful impacts these pressures can have, including:
- Mental health and suicide rates
- Sexual harassment and violence against women
- Healthier alternatives and practical strengths-based solutions
Coaches introduce CBIM as part of regular training through weekly CBIM team building talks that encourage positive role modelling and set a mutually reinforcing standard for team culture.
Talks run for 10 – 15 minutes, with 12 training talks in total covering topics such as:
- Personal responsibility and discipline
- Mental health
- Non-violence
- Respectful behaviour
- Healthy relationships, including consent
- Integrity and cooperation
- Taking a stand against bullying
- Communication and conflict
Download the Active Respect Handbook
For more information contact: Active.respect@jss.org.au or dei@footballvictoria.com.au