More Than Boxing: Building Confidence, Connection and Recovery in Melbourne

A Program Built by Women, for Women

In a boxing gym in Footscray, women are discovering something far more powerful than a workout. What began as a small pilot program has grown into a thriving community for women participating in cohealth’s Psychosocial Recovery, Family and Domestic Violence, and Refugee Women’s Health programs.

The goal was simple: create an activity that women would enjoy, commit to, and benefit from. Through a collaborative co-design process between Reclink Australia and cohealth, boxing emerged as an unexpected but highly effective solution.

The response was immediate, with participants embracing the opportunity to challenge themselves in a supportive environment.

Supported by funding from the Victorian Government through Active Victoria, the program reflects Reclink’s commitment to creating safe, inclusive and respectful environments, with all programs aligned to Sport and Recreation Victoria’s Fair Play Code and its principles of integrity, respect, responsibility, safety and fairness.

The Power of the Right Coach

Central to the program’s success is coach Raphaela, a former elite athlete and boxing coach from Papua New Guinea. More than her technical expertise, Raphaela brings empathy, lived experience and a deep understanding of the challenges many participants face.

“As a coach and mentor, you have to understand people as a person, not just as an athlete,” she says. “I’ve got to understand someone to train them,” Raphaela says.

Her approach focuses on creating a safe and welcoming environment where women feel respected, supported and empowered.

“We all have to be together because we are women,” Raphaela says. “We need to empower each other.”

More Than a Boxing Class

While boxing is the vehicle, participants and organisers agree the program is about much more than sport.

The classes are free, women-only and inclusive of children, removing barriers that often prevent women from participating in physical activity. Participants enter a real boxing gym, but one transformed into a space where they feel comfortable learning, growing and connecting.

For many women, simply walking through the door is a significant achievement.

Senior Sports Coordinator Emily believes the program provides participants with a valuable opportunity to challenge themselves in a supportive and empowering environment.

"The women involved in this program feel empowered and supported to learn, grow, be challenged and experience a release of energy they have needed to supress for a long time. It's a space where they are encouraged to be themselves - to laugh, be vulnerable, be angry, be happy, be proud - and to experience a full range of emotions in a safe environment," Emily said.

Emily said creating a welcoming and non-judgemental space is central to the program's success, allowing women from diverse backgrounds and experiences to feel included and supported.

"An environment where they are not expected to be anything in particular and not be judged for however they feel that day. Having a space where women who have experienced trauma or significant disadvantage can express vulnerability and rage at the same time is something special and entirely different."

Building Confidence Through Achievement

Participant Teneal has attended since the program began and says it has transformed her confidence.

“The program is very important to me,” she says. “I love coming every week. I’ve never stuck to something as long as this program.”

The structured training and visible improvements have kept her motivated.

“Seeing yourself grow and hit achievements and goals really makes you feel motivated,” she says. “It helps you believe in yourself in general.”

Where Physical and Mental Health Meet

The program recognises the close relationship between physical and mental wellbeing.

Lucy, a nurse with cohealth’s Psychosocial Recovery Program, says exercise offers benefits that extend far beyond fitness.

“The beauty of this program is that it acknowledges the intersection between mental and physical health,” she explains.

Physical activity helps reduce stress, improve mood and create a sense of focus, while the social connections formed through the program help combat isolation. Participants consistently report feeling more connected, with many forming friendships that continue outside the gym.

“A sense of belonging is a pillar of mental wellbeing,” Lucy says.

Raphaela’s Personal Journey

Raphaela’s passion for helping others is deeply personal. After arriving in Australia with her young daughter in 2022, she experienced many of the challenges faced by women starting over in a new country.

“I know what it’s like to come to a different country and start again from the bottom,” she says. “I’ve been in their shoes.”

That experience helps her connect with participants from refugee, migrant and diverse cultural backgrounds and reinforces her belief in the power of sport to bring people together.

Strength, Not Struggle

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of the program is its focus on strengths rather than struggles.

While many participants have experienced mental health challenges, family violence or displacement, the gym is not defined by those experiences. Instead, it is a place where women focus on what they can achieve together.

“The thing that’s uniting them is strength-based,” says one program leader. “It’s focused on where they’re heading and that they’re going there together.”

What started as a simple conversation between community partners has become a powerful example of how sport can create confidence, connection and hope.

For Raphaela, the message is simple: “As a woman, you have to understand that you are enough.”

And every week in Footscray, women are proving exactly that, one session, one punch and one step forward at a time.