MYTH 12: "We must all be on the lookout for signs of grooming in sport"
Is sexual abuse the most common safeguarding issue in sport?
Probably not. Poor practice, emotional abuse and bullying are probably far more prevalent than sexual abuse in sport, 49,50 but our obsession with all things sexual means we have a distorted concern about this. It is likely that rates of the different forms of abuse vary from sport to sport but we do not have clear sport-specific data about this yet.
MYTH 13: "Our advanced standards will protect us from scandal"
Do standards guarantee that children are safe in sport?
No. We have studies showing that there is often a policy vacuum between national and local or club level, and that policy impacts fade unless safeguarding work is constantly refreshed. 51-53
MYTH 14: "Kids have nothing useful to say about this subject"
Are children in sport able to offer sensible ideas about their own sport experiences and safeguarding issues?
Yes. But too often we exclude athletes - of all ages - from expressing their own views and or being listened to.54, 55 Thankfully, many NGBs and International Federations now have athlete forums or commissions which allow young people to have direct input into decisions about their training, competition and welfare.56,57 This, in itself, helps us to comply with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and also helps to empower young athletes and thus to make them less vulnerable to all types of abuse. That said, we should never forget that adults should always be held responsible for their own actions.
Celia Brackenridge is the former Director, Centre for Youth Sport and Athlete Welfare at Brunel University in West London, UK and a leader in sports abuse research. This article is adapted from a keynote address given to the conference "How Safe is Your Sport" held at the Excel Sports Centre, Coventry, UK on February 25, 2010, hosted by the Coventry Sports Foundation and the NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit.
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Created August 7, 2010; updated November 5, 2015
