Key conclusions and recommendations

• Author: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (European Commission), ECORYS
• Pages: 46-49

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6.0 Key conclusions and recommendations

6.1 Key conclusions

Evidence on the magnitude of violence against children in sport

A review of the literature shows that there is a g rowing body of evidence on the

magnitude of violence against children in sport. The review has shown that sexual,

gender-based and physical violence (including sexual abuse, sexual harassment, peer

aggression, forced physical exertion and self-harm) have been covered more extensively

by research studi es. Studies have h ighlighted the prevalence of psychological violence

towards children in sport (including bullying, emotional abuse, neglect, virtual

maltreatment, discrimination and hazing), however evidence on the specific risk factors

associated with psychological violence are less well covered.

The review suggests that research evidence on the magnitude of the problem is limited

in a number of ways:

 Limited coverage of studies – data is available for only a selected number of Member

States, impeding the possibility to fully grasp the magnitude of the prob lem.

 Studies are usually based on one-off surveys which means that it is not possibl e to

examine trends in safeguarding issues over time.

 Problems related to conceptualisation – the reviewed studies use inconsistent

terminology based on the lack of standardised definitions, as well as different

methodological tools (e.g. surveys, interviews…). Addi tionally, the sensitivity of the

issue, the ethical challenges involving interviewing and surveying children and

possible memory bias if adults are retrospectively surveyed. All these challenges

result in difficulties to compare the outcomes of the studies, leading to the conclusion

that it is only possible to make estimates of prevalence, and not actual preval ence

numbers.

EU and international initiatives

The study has identified a range of EU and international initiatives focused on addressing

safeguarding issues in sport. The EU initi atives are mainly EU funded projects (e.g. Pro

Safe Sport projects, SportParentEU project, Addressing Gender Equality in Sport

project, Sport Respects Your Rights project, VOICEs project and Sport Against Violence

and Exclusion (SAVE) project). Most of these successful safeguarding projects were

funded by the EU and implemented by the Council of Europe, in the context of a bilateral

cooperation between the European Commission and the Council of Europe .

Many of the international organisations including UNICEF, the World Players

Association (WPA) and the International Alliance for Youth Sports have developed

a number of safeguarding policy guidelines. A key document was developed by UNICEF’s

International Safeguards for Children in Sport Working Group and suggests safeguards

which are needed and should be put in place by any organisation providing sports

activities to children.

IOC have been particularly active in this area. The IOC toolkit provides general guidance

targeting all IFs and NOCs in their pursuit to create and implement policies and

procedures to safeguard athletes from harassment and abuse in sport. In general, the

reviewed initiatives entail and have produced policy guidelines, educational toolkits (e.g.

online courses, webinars, videos, workshops, briefings an d training) and awareness

raising measures (e.g. campaigns, networking events, exchanges of best practice and

experience and conferences).

Most of the initiatives focus on abuse generally in sport or specifically on sexual

harassment and physical abuse. Psychological and emotional abuse is l ess covered.