Responses from Indigenous AFLW players suggests racism in the women's game is more prevalent than what male AFL players currently face, a new report has found.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women also rate their AFLW culture significantly lower than their AFL peers do.

The data comes from the AFL Players Association's Insights and Impacts Report, which was released on Wednesday. The report canvassed all AFL and AFLW players, including those First Nations players.

The survey suggested 71 per cent of Indigenous players say racism has mostly occurred on social media.

A similar 70 per cent surveyed said they felt a racist incident they endured or witnessed was either not dealt with or only partially dealt with properly.

The 21 First Nations women playing on AFLW lists this year rated their workplace a 6.95 out of 10 compared to 7.38 from the 64 First Nations AFL-listed men.

The differential grew further when women considered the Indigenous duty of care of their own club, which they scored 7.57 out of 10 compared to men at 9.54.

Both groups of Indigenous players deal with similar problems, with the main source of racism experienced by both men and women surveyed being DMs (direct messages) on social media. Twenty seven — almost one in three — pointing to the issue.

The data appears in line with recent high-profile incidents involving close friends and rivals, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Jase Burgoyne, who have reportedly received racially abusive messages online.

A further 13 players said spectators at games is their biggest grievance, while 10 male and female players each said they face racism while playing at a community level or among the general public.

Just 12 of the 85 players point to either the media, players and staff from other clubs, their own teammates, the AFL administration or their own club staff — in that order — as the problem, with the AFL Players Association their most trusted ally for First Nations players after not registering a single complaint.

From those raw figures, 57 per cent of the players say they would welcome more support, greater tools and/or further education to equip them to more confidently to respond to racist incidents.

All female players surveyed, unlike 70 per cent of the men, don't believe the response to racism has been "sufficient" enough.

Two out of every three women surveyed believe the response from footy authorities has been simply "non-existent", in what is an alarming kick in the guts to the game's administration.

Just 17 per cent of Indigenous footballers of both genders were entirely satisfied with the response to racist incidents, though 63 per cent said they were totally satisfied.

Satisfaction with racism response is said to have declined, although there have also been fewer reports from players in recent times.

A growing number of Indigenous players also said they have never experienced direct racism during their football careers.

In 2024, 66 per cent of AFL players and 85 per cent of AFLW players said they had never encountered racism in the game in a similar survey, compared to the 58 per cent and 77 per cent respectively last year.

However, for those players who did experience racism, fewer felt the situation was handled well.

Just 26 per cent of AFL players and 18 per cent of AFLW players were entirely satisfied with the response to a racist incident in what is a sharp drop from the 46 per cent and 53 per cent each the previous year.

This follows the game's administration admitting it needs to do more to address the declining number of Indigenous players at the elite level.

Figures have seen a fall from 87 men in 2020 compared to 64 this year.

The AFL is aiming to boost Indigenous player numbers with a range of measures next season, including introducing a dedicated list spot at each club for emerging Indigenous players, with additional rookie spots available for both the men's and women's competitions.

The AFL launched a First Nations Impact Fund earlier in the year, with around $300,000 set to be invested each year in partnership with clubs amid key initiatives which are designed to better address cultural safety, fighting racism and grow Indigenous representation.

"Then when the players are drafted, we're making sure the First Nations players are staying in the game as long as others," AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said in May.

"There's plenty of work to do, but we've got targets in mind and big focus points."

Across the board, including counting non-Indigenous players, racism was the fourth most prevalent issue in the game behind dealing with mental health, social media and media scrutiny.