Teams preparing for the Oceania U20s Challenge and the Oceania Rugby Women’s XV Championship have taken part in important safeguarding workshops led by Oceania Rugby’s Get Into Rugby Plus team.
Among the teams that have completed the sessions are the SportsWorld Fiji U20 side and the Vodafone Fijiana XV, both of whom are preparing for key matches this week.
The safeguarding programme is part of Oceania Rugby’s commitment to creating a safe and respectful environment for all players and officials.
National Coordinator and Safeguarding team leader, Oripa Lee said these workshops are designed to build awareness and promote the five core values of rugby integrity, passion, solidarity, discipline, and respect mboth on and off the field.
These values, she said, are not only important in sport, but are key to preventing violence and abuse in the wider community.
“One of the major topics covered was the difference between gender and sex characteristics, and how cultural gender roles can sometimes hold women back or make them more vulnerable to abuse,” Lee said.
Lee explained that many women still suffer in silence, and part of the safeguarding message is to help them feel confident to speak out and seek help.
