New Zealand Rugby welcomes assistance of Louise Nicholas

Sep 9 • General News, International • 1224 Views • Comments Off on New Zealand Rugby welcomes assistance of Louise Nicholas

New Zealand Rugby is to work with experienced anti-sexual violence advocate Louise Nicholas to enhance its education programmes for players and the broader rugby community.

New Zealand Rugby Chief Executive Steve Tew said the organisation clearly could do better in terms of the culture of its players, particularly regarding attitudes towards women.

“We’ve had very fruitful discussions with Louise Nicholas and Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Dr Jackie Blue today and welcome their help.

“Rugby has an important place in our community. Women, young and old, as players, supporters, parents and volunteers, are at the very heart of our game. Recent events show that attitudes among some of our people towards women leaves a lot to be desired.

“These views let rugby down. Today we are reaffirming our commitment to ensuring all our players know what’s expected of them in the professional game.

“We’re already doing a lot of good work in this area, but clearly we need to do more. We’re absolutely committed to ensuring our programmes underline the importance of healthy relationships and respect for women.

“We know Louise and the Human Rights Commission have a lot to offer in this area and we look forward to cooperating with them in the future to improve our education for the rugby community.

“For the past year we have been developing a respect and responsibility education programme in association with ACC focussed further on healthy relationships and consent issues. This week we began advertising for a Respect and Responsibility Manager to spearhead the project.”

Steve Tew said he also took the opportunity to take Dr Blue and Ms Nicholas through the Chiefs investigation process.

“They accepted that there was no need for the inquiry to be re-litigated by us.

“We also remain willing to help the Police in any way we can and that includes making available the report our senior counsel has prepared.”