Athletes under attack: artificial intelligence and the sexualised targeting of Indigenous women

The use of deep fake images to target Kamilaroi athlete Jaime Chapman highlights many issues of concern about artificial intelligence (AI), and also raises wider questions about sexism and racism in sport, according to Macquarie University researchers Dr Tamika Worrell and Dr Innez Haua.

Tamika Worrell and Innez Haua write:

Elite athlete Jaime Chapman has repeatedly been targeted by the sharing of images of her, without her consent, across social media. The problem is that the images were not of Jaime. They were pornographic images generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

This reveals a deeper problem of the nature in which Indigenous sports women’s bodies are sexualised and how technology-facilitated abuse occurs.

Society is becoming increasingly aware of the potential negative impacts of AI, from harvesting data, to concerns about AI companions and detrimental environmental impacts.

There are also the concerns Indigenous peoples have with AI, with wide ranging consequences from the environment, to the spreading of misinformation about Indigenous peoples.

Deep fakes are an example of one of the more malicious and harmful applications of AI.

Concerningly, based on research from Professor Nicola Henry and colleagues, across ten countries, Australia has the largest number of victims of AI-generated sexual abuse imagery in the form of AI generated pornography.

It is known that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experience extremely high rates of domestic violence, including technology facilitated violence, and abuse experienced when online dating.

However, we are yet to understand the extent to which Indigenous women experience AI-generated sexual abuse imagery.

Deepfakes and Indigenous sportswomen

The consequences are amplified when these AI technologies, in the form of deep fakes, target Indigenous women. This has been demonstrated in recent media with NRLW star, Kamilaroi woman Jaime Chapman, who has been targeted with malicious deepfake AI images of herself.

Chapman has starred in the NRLW Blues, Indigenous All Stars, Jillaroos, and is on track for a big season with her new club the Gold Coast Titans, as well as being a key role model for young Indigenous women.

Demonstrating both her humility and strength, Jaime has called out the damage that AI causes not only to the individual depicted, but also the community and family around them. She has been well supported by her club, and the NRL Integrity unit is investigating.

Unsurprisingly, yet still disappointingly, public commentary on this demonstrates a continued narrative of victim blaming, further objectifying and sexualising Chapman. This is indicative of a wider societal issue, that positions all women within a heteronormative male gaze of desire.

Indigenous women in sports

Rugby league has traditionally been gendered as a male dominated sport, specifically associated with masculinity, masculine physiology and physical combative strength.

Although women have participated in rugby league since the early 20th century, their involvement has long been criticised and obstructed. It is only in the past two decades that women and girls have seen a gradual, yet persistent, shift toward their acceptance as athletes within the sport.

Consequently, by 2023 the first collective bargaining agreement was established between the NRL (National Rugby League) and women players, providing small, but regular payments for athletes competing in the National Rugby League Women (NRLW).

This step in professionalising the sport for women, reflects the growing popularity of spectator interest, and women’s participation in rugby league, breaking traditional gendered norms in the sport.

In Australian rugby league a significant portion of players are Indigenous, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players and players Indigenous to the Pacific and New Zealand. This is reflected also in the NRLW competition where in 2025, 48 percent of competitors are Indigenous Pacific and Māori, and 14 percent are Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander.

Indigenous bodies in sports are products of commodity. Indigenous athletes are the subject of colonial perceptions that require them to behave and perform in particular ways. They are only celebrated when they succeed within these boxes of colonial expectations.

Racism for Indigenous players has been rampant, and even raising key questions about other Indigenous peoples’ behaviour on Aboriginal land.

Evidence has shown that most women athletes receive gendered online harm. Indigenous women, however, experience the intersections of racism and sexism, and often body-shaming.

What is needed?

Whilst support of women’s sports grows, there is still a long way to go.

We see this demonstrated in the recent announcement of no women’s league game being announced for the 2026 opening round in Las Vegas.

Social media offers increased avenues to engage in content about women’s sports, in league, we see @Watchherfooty provide key information and promotion of women’s league. There is also @thefemaleathleteproject, who platforms women athletes in all sports.

The appetite for more NRLW is there, demonstrated by exceptional engagement in the NRLW State of Origin, with over 927,000 viewers of Game 1 on Channel 9, the highest views of any NRL game in 2025 for the network, with viewers over two million total.

With the momentum continuing for a stellar series win from the Blues in game 2, with early reports indicating a viewership of over one million.

Keep watching women’s sports, supporting the game and increasing the appetite for women’s sports.

Call out your mates that sexualise sports players and throw around casual misogyny about women’s sport. Be aware of the nature of algorithms, and how they prioritise men’s sports.

When it comes to AI, we need to continue to cast a critical eye to ensure we are not perpetuating a continued digital colonialism.

We need to ensure we are aware of the climate impacts of these technologies, and that regulations and law attempt to tackle the misogyny that underpins the creation and distribution of deep fake pornography.

Author details

Dr Tamika Worrell (she/her) is a Senior Lecturer in Critical Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University. Her family from Gamilaroi Country, Western New South Wales in so-called Australia. She has been grown up by Dharug Ngurra (Country), where she continues to live and work. Her research interests are broadly in Indigenous representation, Indigenous education and our digital lives, including artificial intelligence.

Dr Innez Haua (she/her/ia) is Aotearoa Māori, a daughter of the Pacific, a descendent of iwi; Ngāti Porou; Ngāi Tāmanuhiri; Rongowhakaata; Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki; Ngāti Kahungunu and a (grateful) settler on Dharug Ngurra.  She is the Indigenous HDR Internship Convenor and a Lecturer in the Department of Critical Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Her research focus includes Indigenous diasporas, the entangled histories and futures of Indigenous relationalities and Indigenous cultural sustainability.

Note from Croakey: Due to an editor’s error, the last section of this story was initially omitted from publication.

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