Continuing reports of child abuse in sport
According to the recent report from Operation Hydrant regarding the referrals of non-recent child sexual abuse within football, 27 referrals have been made about sports clubs outside of football including basketball, rugby, gymnastics, martial arts, tennis, wrestling, golf, sailing, athletics, cricket, and swimming.
The most recent high-profile case to hit the headlines concerns gymnast McKayla Maroney, an Olympic gold medallist from Team USA who says she was sexually abused by the former USA gymnastics doctor from the age of 13.
#MeToo
The #MeToo hashtag on social media is used to denounce sexual assault and harassment.
Wikipedia explains that after accusations against Weinstein surfaced, an American actress encouraged spreading the phrase to show the scale and ubiquity of the problem, commenting: "If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote 'Me too.' as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.”
Moroney made the statement on her twitter account and concluded with poignant comments about how attitudes around sexual abuse, specifically within
She listed:
One: Speaking out, and bringing awareness to the abuse that is happening.
Two: People, institutions,
Three: Educate, and prevent, no matter the cost.
Four: Have zero tolerance for abusers and those who protect them.
Child Protection Policies and Procedures
Once again it is the internal systems of sports clubs and governing bodies that come into the spotlight and are almost held as accountable as the abusers themselves. When the original allegations were made, USA Gymnastics’ president and chief executive resigned over the issue. Following McKayla’s allegations, the
