Child abuse in sport
As the number of referrals for reports of historic child abuse in football continues to increase, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Child Protection, Simon Bailey, has questioned if clubs are taking appropriate action to prevent children being abused today, and stated that when historic allegations are reported, police will assess whether there are any current safeguarding risks.
It’s not just football clubs that need to take action, the statistics released by Operation Hydrant show that 27 referrals relate to sports outside football, including basketball, rugby, gymnastics, martial arts, tennis, wrestling, golf, sailing, athletics, cricket, and swimming.
Help keep sport safe
All organisations who work with children, young people and vulnerable adults should develop safe ways of working so that safeguarding and promoting welfare is embedded into all that they do.
Most organisations have safeguarding policies and procedures, but they are worthless if staff do not fully understand and follow them.
Our Child Protection Good Practice Checklist, taken from our Child Protection in Sport and Active Leisure online training course, is useful for new organisations and for those whose policies need to be refreshed or updated.
