Her Flame Burns Brighter

Her Flame Burns Brighter is an Australian government funded pilot program that the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Uni Flames will roll out in 2021. This project is expected to reach between 1200-1500 basketball players across NSW aged 14-18 through an innovative approach aimed at developing skills that improve attitudes and behaviours around gender equity to prevent violence against women.

Her Flame Burns Brighter has been designed in collaboration with Our Watch, a Federal Government funded organisation leading progressive and innovative approaches to preventing violence against women. In order to ensure the program is applying the best available methods to develop effective messaging and skills in participants, research experts in the primary prevention of violence against women from La Trobe University Centre for Sport and Social Impact are also being consulted.

Through this program, the primary objectives are to:

• • Build the capacity of basketball coaches in NSW to facilitate messaging and practices that enhance skills, attitudes & knowledge of adolescents, and;
  • Strengthen protective factors that promote empowerment, confidence & awareness amongst 14-18 year old females that helps prevent them experiencing violence, and;
  • Reducing risk factors related to accepted attitudes, behaviours & cultural norms amongst 14-18 year old males that help prevent violence against women.

Her Flame Burns Brighter will involve training existing NSW basketball coaches of under 14 to under 18 players, both male and female, to implement short basketball drills with embedded messages related to the attitudes, knowledge and skills that increase protective factors for women. There will be six regions that receive the program across a two-year period that are selected based on particular demographics and socio-economic data. The program will be rolled out at the following associations (subject to change):

• • Sydney CBD & Inner City – April 2021
  • Newcastle – Newcastle & Central Coast – September 2021
  • Western Sydney – Bankstown, Hills & Hornsby – September 2021
  • South Coast – 2022
  • Coffs Harbour – 2022
  • Bathurst – 2022

This program is built on the successful and harmonious combination of expertise on the subject matter tied in with the important knowledge of basketball coaches. The sessions are designed to be short interventions that look and feel like regular basketball training drills and are consistently implemented on a weekly basis during training sessions over the course of 6-8 weeks. The pilot will be rolled out and followed by an evaluation process to measure the program’s success.

The programs first introductory session was held on Saturday April 17^th, 2021 prior to the Sydney Kings vs Cairns Taipans game at Qudos Bank Arena. In attendance were over 50 coaches from a number of associations across Sydney, all of which were provided the opportunity to watch, engage and actively participate with a performance on the prevalence of gender inequality within everyday life provided by theatre sports company THiNK ABOUT iT.

THiNK ABOUT iT use theatre sports to create a safe, fun, entertaining and inviting space for participants (coaches) to explore and address issues around domestic violence and gender equity. Coaches were invited from the audience and used directly to speak to themes and issues that Her Flame Burns Brighter aims to address.

For further information, to become involved or to support the program, please contact Joel by emailing admin@sydneyflames.com.au