{"id":1047452,"date":"2026-09-06T19:19:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T19:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1047452\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T19:19:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T19:19:19","slug":"misogynistic-greyhound-racing-figures-to-undergo-sexism-training-after-victorian-mp-georgie-purcell-abused-online-victoria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1047452\/","title":{"rendered":"Misogynistic greyhound racing figures to undergo sexism training after Victorian MP Georgie Purcell abused online | Victoria"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greyhound racing trainers in Victoria can be forced to undergo training to understand the effects of misogynistic and sexist online commentary, after a spate of abuse directed at the Animal Justice party MP Georgie Purcell.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Greyhound Racing Victoria<\/a> has confirmed the training has been introduced for those who have posted \u201cmisogynistic or sexist commentary\u201d online, in breach of its social media policy and conduct rules.<\/p>\n

Stewards, who are responsible for overseeing the integrity, safety and welfare of racing, can mandate the education program before deciding on penalties.<\/p>\n

The GRV spokesperson said the training focuses on \u201cthe impacts of online misogynistic harm, sexist commentary, respectful online engagement and the standards expected of participants representing the sport\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The program] is intended to promote behavioural change, improve understanding of the impacts of online conduct, and reduce the likelihood of future misconduct,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGRV takes all breaches of its rules and policies seriously and expects participants to conduct themselves respectfully both within the sport and online.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spokesperson did not say whether the training was introduced due to the repeated targeting of Purcell, who is a vocal opponent of the sport.<\/p>\n

But Guardian Australia understands the first participant is a trainer who was penalised for breaching the GRV\u2019s guidelines after a Facebook comment referenced Purcell\u2019s past work as a topless waitress while completing her law degree<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnbelievable that someone who has preyed upon men for financial benefit by removing clothing and presenting naked can actually hold a position in government,\u201d the post from July read.<\/p>\n

\u201cShows how bad this country is going. My grandmother always said women with no morals will do and say anything for self benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trainer, who Guardian Australia has chosen not to name, had pleaded not guilty to the breach. He was given a two-month suspension and a $500 fine, both suspended for 12 months<\/p>\n

\u201c[The trainer] was directed by stewards to participant in an education program intended to educate him on the expectations of the GRV Social Media Guidelines and the impact of engaging in offensive comments on social media,\u201d reads the stewards\u2019 hearing report, published online on 24 August.<\/p>\n

It comes after Purcell used a parliamentary adjournment<\/a> in July to urge the minister for racing, Anthony Carbines, to mandate gendered violence prevention training after she reported \u201cdozens of sexist, threatening, demeaning and derogatory comments by industry participants\u201d to GRV. She said the penalties laid by the stewards in response had been \u201cminuscule\u201d.<\/p>\n

Purcell pointed to the case of a seperate trainer who had his six-month licence suspension halved to three months after appealing to the Victorian Racing Tribunal (VRT) in June.<\/p>\n

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The 72-year-old trainer was found guilty of posting: \u201cwon\u2019t be long and she will be taking off her clothes for old men again\u201d. He pleaded not guilty, and charges were ultimately dropped regarding a separate comment stating \u201cthis girl needs a good root\u201d.<\/p>\n

The VRT said the post was \u201cunacceptable\u201d and that it \u201cdoes not, and will not condone such behaviour by members of this industry\u201d. But it determined the man was \u201centitled to a discount in penalty by his plea\u201d due to being a \u201cperson of good character\u201d.<\/p>\n

Animal Justice party MP Georgie Purcell says the introduction of the training is an \u2018incredibly important step\u2019. Photograph: Stuart Walmsley\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Purcell told Guardian Australia that online abuse from those in the greyhound industry was \u201calmost a daily reality\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt ranges from sexist slurs to threats of violence, and the penalties laid by the industry have been completely insufficient,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Purcell said it was difficult to know how effective the training would be without seeing its contents, but described its introduction as an \u201cincredibly important step\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cChanging their clear culture problem is not about protecting me \u2013 it is about ensuring the safety of women who also work in the industry, and the women and girls in the lives of participants who are engaging in this behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Research from nonpartisan organisation Women for Election, published last month, found almost 90% of the female politicians surveyed had experienced gendered online abuse. More than half had reconsidered their positions in public office, while three-quarters believed online abuse of women in politics had increased in the past two years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Greyhound racing trainers in Victoria can be forced to undergo training to understand the effects of misogynistic and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1047453,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,50],"class_list":["post-1047452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-australia","tag-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1047452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1047452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1047452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1047452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}