Rugby Victoria is proud to support a new initiative designed to protect players, referees, coaches, volunteers and all members of our rugby community from online abuse and harassment.
In partnership with Rugby Australia and Social Protect, an AI-powered social media protection tool will now be rolled out across the game.
This important safeguard will apply to everyone in our game, from professional players to grassroots clubs, junior participants and match officials.
Online abuse is an issue we take seriously. It has no place in rugby. This partnership provides a practical tool to help protect our community and promote a culture of respect, safety and inclusion on and off the field.
Social Protect works by automatically detecting and removing abusive, harmful or offensive comments in real time from social media profiles, posts and pages.
Any comments removed are recorded in a secure admin portal, which can be accessed by Rugby Australia and relevant member unions if further action is needed under our codes of conduct and policies.
This is a whole-of-game approach and a critical step in ensuring everyone involved in rugby feels safe and supported both online and at the ground.
In a recent two-month trial across national team channels, more than 1,500 harmful comments were detected and quarantined, clearly highlighting the scale of the issue and the need to take action.
With the support of Social Protect, Rugby Australia and state unions like Rugby Victoria are standing together to make rugby a safer and more respectful game for all.
To get started with Social Protect, click the link below to access your sign-up code.
