Strategic and policy context

• Author: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (European Commission), ECORYS
• Pages: 9-13

9

2.0 Strategic and policy context

2.1 Introduction

This chapter outlines the policy and strategic background for the mapping review. It

briefly considers key policy devel opments at an EU level focus ed on addressing

safeguarding issues in sport, including reference to recent EU lev el initiatives that are

seeking to address the issue.

2.2 Policy context

This section outlines the high-level policy context of the study, providing an overview of

the main policy developments which are relevant to the EU context.

The European Commission’s White Paper on Sport (2007) recognised the importance of

protection of children in sport, notably stipulating the importance of actions against

sexual abuse and harassment of minors in sport. In the White Paper the issue of

safeguarding was highlighted in the parti cular contexts of internati onal movement and

transfer of players and the development of robust licensing systems for professional

clubs at European and national levels as a tool for promoting good governance in sport.1

The Commission acknowledged that licencing could also include provisions regarding

discrimination, violence, protection of minors and training.

The protection and safeguardin g of minors in sport was one of the five issues defined

as sport integrity priorities by Member States and the Europ ean Commission in the

European Work Plan for Sport (2014-2017).2 The Expert Group on Good Governance,

set up in 2016 through the Work Plan for Sport (20 14-2017) developed

recommendations on the protection of young athletes and safeguarding children's rights

in sport.3 Based on a synth esis of the available academic li terature on the subject

(detailed in section 3) which informed the recommendati ons, the report concluded that

minorities already facing more challenges to engage in sports (e.g. LGBT, ethnical

minorities etc.) were at a higher risk of experiencing violence. The study highlighted the

complexity of the topic and the need for new preventative measures such as tools, rules

and advice, involving all levels of government. Specific recommendations at the level of

national public authorities were to:

 Encourage collaboration/effective partnerships between sport organisations,

national agencies responsible for sport with those responsible for child protection.

 Implement effective legislation and regulation in fighting agains t violence to minors

in sport.

 Support sport organisati ons for the development of child protection measures:

promote educational programmes, codes of conduct, guidelines, toolkits, awareness

campaigns, hotlines, etc. with clear procedures for managing allegations and dealing

with post-judgment issues and link revenue grant aid for that purpose.

 Improve data collection and knowledge about violence to minors in sport.

1 European Commission (2007): The White Paper on Sport.

2 Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States

(2014): Meeting within the Council, of 21 May 2014 on the European Union Work Plan for Sport

(2014-2017)

3 European Commission (2016): Recommendations on the Protection of Young Athletes and

Safeguarding Children's Rights in Sport.