International and EU level policy initiatives

• Author: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (European Commission), ECORYS
• Pages: 20-27

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4.0 International and EU level policy initiatives

4.1 Introduction

This section outlines the various European and international initiatives that focus on

addressing safeguarding issues in sport. Through desk research and stakeholder

consultations, a vari ety of international initiatives to help safeguard children i n sport

have been identified. The focus of the review at the international level has been

international sport organisations as well as internati onal organisations which are

concerned with child protect ion more generally (e.g. UNICEF). The initiatives include

policy guidelines, educational toolkits (e.g. online courses, webinars, videos, workshops,

briefings and training) an d awareness raising measures (e.g. campaigns, networking

events, exchanges of best practice and experience and conferences). Most of the

initiatives focus on abuse g enerally in sport or spe cifically on sexual harassment and

physical abuse. There appears to be less focus on p sychological and emotional abuse.

Eighteen international initiatives were identified (see Annex Two for a detailed mapping

of these international initiatives).

4.2 Specific international initiatives

The Council of Europe (CoE), in collaboration with the EU, has implemented a number

of successful projects to safeguard children in sport.

 In 2014-2015, the “Pro Safe Sport” (PSS) project was first launched in order to

promote a safe and h ealthy environment for child athletes. The initiative aimed to

shed light on the problem of viol ence against children in sport by making the topic

more visible. The initiative produced a variety of tools u seful for raising awa reness

about the issue, including an online resource toolkit on sexual violence against

children in sport, a trainin g modul e and video clips.48 The online resource toolkit

provides tools and advice on how to promote the well- being of child athletes.

 Due to the success of PSS, it was followed in 2017 by a new joint initiative between

the CoE and the EU: the Pro Safe Sport + (PSS+) project. The PSS+ project aimed

at increasing the commitment of both governmental and non -governmental

organisations towards sexual violence against children in sport through awareness

raising tools and capacity building resources. The i nitiative produc ed a variety of

tools useful for raising awareness about the issue, including another online resource

centre on sexual violence against children in sport, a pool of experts on sexual

violence in sport, a training kit and video clips for raising awareness. 49

 The f ollow u p to the Pro Safe Sport project (Pro Sa fe Sport+) was renamed and

relaunched in 2018 as the Start to Talk Initiative. This is a call for actions targeting

public authorities, the sport movement and other stakeholders to take the necessary

prevention and protection measures to stop c hild sexual abuse. “Start to talk” is

about adults breaking the silence and lending children a voice. The first set of actions

launches campaigns at national level and involves well-known athletes, coaches,

clubs and federations, who act as “silence breakers” drawing attention to the

problem of sexual abuse of children in sports. The second acti on is to develop and

improve safeguarding and protection frameworks and the third action is to promote

training of key stakeholders.50

48 Pro Safe Sport. Available at: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/pss/activities-pss-plus.

49 Pro Safe Sport +. Available at: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/pss/training-kit.

50 Start to Talk Initiative. Available at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/human-rights-channel/stop-

child-sexual-abuse-in-sport.