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CELIA BRACKENRIDGE
PhD, MA, BEd (Hons) , Cantab, MILAM, AcSS

07815 881329 (Mobile)
e.mail:
celia.brackenridge@btopenworld.com
VAT No. 762 9803 01 Company No: 4301248

CHILD PROTECTION IN BRITISH SPORT ~ A POSITION STATEMENT* 

*Acknowledgements: The author wishes to thank Dr. Lynne Johnston, Research Fellow and Diana Summers, Research Student, both of Cheltenham and Gloucester College of HE, for their comments
on an earlier draft of this document.

January 1998; Reprinted October 1998; Updated March 1999; Posted this website October 2003

Contents

1.0 Summary of recommendations to the ESC
2.0 Introduction
3.0 Rationale and purpose
4.0 Status of sport-based knowledge
5.0 Research
6.0 Policy developments
7.0 Advocacy
8.0 Education and training
9.0 Key resources
     Practical and training resources on child protection
     Academic papers on sport, sexual harassment and abuse
     Popular sources
Appendix 1 ~ Sample Action Plan for Sport Organizations

Appendix II ~ Model for a National Clearing House
Appendix III ~ Update on progress since February 1998


1.0 Summary of recommendations to the ESC

Para/No:

Knowledge:
4/1      Establish a Clearing House for data on abuse and protection in sport through which knowledge on the subject may be collated, information distributed and advice/referral provided (see Appendix II).
4/2      Through the Clearing House, build a database of accounts of different types of abuse and of good practice in child/athlete protection.

Research:
5/3      Establish a Child Protection in Sport Forum to share findings from research in cognate areas (such as sex tourism, child care, teaching).
5/4      Establish and disseminate advisory guidelines for tutors and researchers on the ethical and practical difficulties involved in sensitive research. Consider the merits of suggesting that no school or undergraduate student carry out empirical work in this field.
5/5      Seek ways to generate research funds to support further investigation into the personal, social and institutional parameters of child/athlete abuse and protection in sport.
5/6      Work collaboratively with academic institutions to endorse and support bids on this theme to research councils and charitable foundations.

Policy:
6/7      Make the adoption of a child protection policy (including monitoring plans) a standard criterion within the development plans/grant bids of all grant-eligible bodies to the Sports Council and Lottery and other awarding bodies.
6/8      Recommend that all NGBs and their member regions/local groups adopt annual action plans for child protection (see Appendix 1) and reinforce/support this through the Regional Sports Council liaison officers.
6/9      Use the Child Protection in Sport Forum as a mechanism for sharing policy issues, good practice and advice between provision agencies.
6/10      Work with disability sport groups to audit policy, training and skills needs in respect of child/athlete protection and to develop action plans on the basis of the results.
6/11      Investigate whether child protection policy initiatives might be located within the context of existing frameworks for fair play and gender equity.

Advocacy:
7/12      Designate a senior member of ESC staff to champion child/athlete protection work.
7/13      Include athlete advocates in any Forum discussions or policy planning.
7/14      Build in child/athlete protection elements (policy, training, monitoring) to all national sport initiatives.
7/15      Through the Clearing House, liaise closely with the WSI Task Force about its activities.
7/16      Establish a dedicated telephone helpline for sport-related enquiries.
7/17      Draw from the experience of international partners in preparing to handle media attention to abuse and protection issues.

Education and training:
8/18      Commission education and training materials specifically for parents, athletes and disability sport groups.
8/19      Commission an agent to deliver, monitor and evaluate parent, athlete and disability group training.
8/20      Through the agency of the Forum, invite cognate leisure organisations to share good practice schemes and ideas.
8/21      Through the Clearing House, carry out an audit and review of child protection schemes across the sport and leisure sectors to draw out common elements.
8/22      Through the Clearing House, draw up a register of appropriate trainers and consultants, skilled in child protection and with a working knowledge of sport, who are able to give professional advice or assistance to local and regional sport groups.

2.0 Introduction

The first public recognition of a sport-related need to address harassment and abuse in British sport was at the then-British Association of National Coaches Annual Conference in December 1985, when a draft code of ethics for coaches was presented, based upon the code of ethics adopted at that time by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (Brackenridge 1985). Shortly thereafter, the emergent National Coaching Foundation (NCF) established a working group which developed the first edition of their code of ethics and conduct (subsequently updated in 1995 and now a joint NCF/NASC document) as part of their drive to raise professional standards in coaching.

Progress in child protection work for British sport since 1985 has been mixed but took a major step forward after the conviction for rape of former Olympic swimming coach Paul Hickson in 1995. Whilst this hugely negative event caused shock and near panic in some quarters it also had major positive consequences. It is gratifying to note that there is now a national debate about the issue, with policy development and grass roots dissemination of good practice a feature of many sport organizations. However, it is also the case that sport in general has been slow to grasp the nettle of child protection when compared with some other major social institutions, such as the Church or education. Just as some individuals in particular sport organizations have taken a lead in pressing for child protection, developing materials and communicating good practice, others have contributed to denial or inertia. Amongst the latter group are representatives at all levels of British sport, from ministers at the top down to volunteer club officials at the bottom. We are all part of the risky system which perpetuates child abuse in sport, and therefore all partly responsible for improving the effectiveness of that system.

3.0 Rationale and Purpose

3.1 Rationale
The rationale for this Position Statement is a need for the UK and home country Sports Councils to become better informed on the subject of sexual harassment abuse and, therefore, better equipped to argue for resources to be devoted to effective child protection in sport.

3.2 Purpose
The purpose of the Statement is to present an overview of the policy, practice and research work on child protection in British sport and to

1 provide a summary of current sport-based knowledge on this subject, in relation to that which is available in other countries;

2 highlight major advances and future priorities;

3 offer recommendations which might constitute an Action Plan at national level.

Research and advocacy work in this field has been developed at Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education (C&GCHE) over the past twelve years. However, in putting forward this Statement, it is acknowledged that no single individual has a complete picture of the state of child protection in British sport today. This Statement, then, is offered primarily as an aide memoire to the UKSC to assist in their development work on this issue with the home Sports Councils, the NCF and any other agencies.

3.3 Structure of the document

The following sections of this Statement are sub-divided as follows:

     Major advances since 1985
     Future priorities
     Recommendations

Note: Except where they are already in the public domain, no individuals or sports are named in the Statement. However, the time is fast approaching when a sport-specific review will be required in order for sensible targetting of policy initiatives and resource allocation.

4.0 Status of sport-based knowledge

4.1 Major advances since 1985
Most of the knowledge that exists about the need for child protection falls under the following:

Sexual harassment and abuse (e.g. various forms of sexual exploitation)
Physical abuse (e.g. overtraining, disordered eating, nutritional control)
Emotional abuse (e.g. psychological stress, lifestyle control)
Child development (e.g. maturation, learning styles)
Ethics (e.g. un/fair play, citizenship)

Just what constitutes 'abuse' in sport is, of course, open to debate but theories and models from the non-sport literature have proved useful for informing child protection work. For example, much of the advice arising from sociological studies on abuse in day-care centres is transferable to voluntary sport settings; clinical psychological knowledge of paedophile grooming strategies highlights warning signs in coach-athlete relations; social policy analysis aids the understanding of why voluntary sector organizations are slow to respond to social problems; history illustrates how the concept of 'child' is constructed differently in different eras and cultures; and philosophy clarifies the competing ethical positions and values which may be used to resolve problematic situations.

In addition to these various disciplines from which knowledge has been applied to child protection in sport, different research methodologies have also shed light on the issue in different ways. For example, quantitative methods such as surveys of victim/survivors or content analysis of criminal records and medical records have provided some baseline information against which the scale of the abuse/protection problem in sport may be judged; qualitative methods, such as unstructured interviews with victims/survivors and perpetrators/abusers or with sport administrators can also provide knowledge about the experiences of those most in need of protection within sport or the barriers to effective dissemination of child protection policies.

Since 1985 the sport-related literature has contained an increasing number of items about the symptoms and causes of behaviour related to child protection. For example, sport psychology has developed extensive knowledge of stressors, including those arising from autocratic coaching practices, and of stress management techniques; applied ethics continues to explore the basis of fair play and its relationship to the ethos of different sports; sport sociology has provided some basic data on the incidence of abuse and harassment in sport and has also developed particular theoretical ideas around:
coach, athlete and sport risk factors,
a predator model or profile of abuse,
the stage of imminent achievement and age of peak risk of sexual abuse in sport.

4.2 Future priorities
Effective child protection policy and practice depends on accurate knowledge of the social, psychological and political processes which characterise the abuse of young people in sport. Despite the recent growth in literature about the young athlete many gaps in our knowledge remain. Some of the questions to which answers are needed include:

What are the incidence and prevalence rates for different types of abuse in sport and how do these vary from national/NSPCC figures for intra- and extra-familial abuse?
Is susceptibility to abuse in sport linked to an athlete's experience of intra-familial abuse?
How does the paedophile and/or predator 'career' develop over time?
Do patterns of abuse vary across sports and at different levels of the sport continuum?
Do patterns of abuse in sport differ from those in other leisure contexts?
What predictive power is there in the coach/athlete/sport risk factors identified so far?
What role might parents play in preventing or identifying risks to their child athletes?
Is particular protection needed for athletes who travel overseas or who are separated for long periods from their parents/carers?
What are the implications of child protection for recent and proposed youth sport initiatives?
Which sport organisations' child protection systems are most effective and why?
What would be the outcomes of a cost/benefit analysis of child protection in sport at different levels?

4.3 Recommendations
1 Establish a Clearing House for data on abuse/protection in sport through which knowledge on the subject may be collated, information distributed and advice/referral provided (see Appendix II).
2 Through the Clearing House, build a database of accounts of different types of abuse and of good practice in child/athlete protection.


5.0 Research

5.1 Major advances since 1985
British research on issues related to child protection in sport was stimulated in the mid 1980s from two sources: first, work on the emergence of a coaching profession in this country and examination of what might constitute professional practice (for example, through a stream at the 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games Conference) and secondly, work by sports feminists on sex discrimination and occupational sex segregation in sport (for example, work by Anita White, Carolyn Carr, Rosie Mayglothling, Celia Brackenridge and Amanda West).

Ongoing research into the experiences of abused athletes has produced a number of theoretical advances (see section 4.0) which are useful for policy (Brackenridge 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997a, 1997b; Brackenridge, Summers & Woodward 1995; Brackenridge & Kirby 1997c). One piece of work has been completed on the role of parents in protecting elite young athletes from sexual abuse (Brackenridge 1998). Four doctoral awards have been made for work on this issue; the first from the ESRC to Ilkay Yorganci of Brighton University to examine sexual harassment amongst athletes (completed 1994) and the second from C&GCHE to Diana Summers of C&GCHE to examine national and local responses to child protection of sport organizations and the Church of England (completion due 1998). The other two studentships are from C&GCHE to research students commencing in 1997 and 1998 to investigate, respectively, good practice in coaching as a method of child protection and bad practice in coaching as a source of potential abuse.

Various efforts have been made to raise research funding for a range of projects related to child/athlete protection in sport. To date, for example, approaches have been made to the following groups: the English Sports Council, Barnado's, the Amateur Swimming Association, the Lawn Tennis Association, Child Line and Save the Children. A major bid worth £128k, endorsed by all four national Sports Councils, the BOA and the NCF, was shortlisted by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in 1996/7 under their Violence Programme. Further bids are in preparation in order to support a survey of harassment and abuse at elite level and more detailed exploration of the predator model of abuse in coaching.

Research outside Britain was stimulated mainly through feminist work in sport on sexual harassment in sport (Lenskyj 1992) and gender relations in sport (see Hall 1996). Since sport is largely student-based and coaching is a better established profession in North America than in Britain, research has tended to focus on professional standards, legal status and social order on campus (Crosset et al. 1996; Pike-Masteralexis 1995; Volkwein 1997).

Only one major national-level survey of sexual harassment and abuse has been conducted out (Kirby & Greaves 1996). This study used a semi-structured postal survey to gather data about incidence, experience, perceived fears and safety levels amongst past and present Canadian Olympians and provides quantitative data against which comparisons may be made with other countries and with data from non-sport contexts.

In the Netherlands, the National Olympic Committee/National Sports Confederation sponsored a qualitative investigation into the experiences of harassment and abuse by young male and female athletes, 'Red Card or Carte Blanche' (Cense 1997). In the USA, Karin Volkwein and associates carried out surveys on perceptions and meanings of sexual harassment amongst over 2,000 college students (Volkwein 1996) and Mariah Burton Nelson, former elite athlete and now a journalist, has published two books on women and sport (1994 and 1996), both of which address the need for athlete/child protection.

Other countries currently engaged in research into sexual harassment/abuse in sport include:
Norway (Jorun Sundgot-Borgen, Kari Fasting & Celia Brackenridge), funded by the Norwegian National Olympic Committee ~ a structured survey and follow-up interviews of elite female athletes' experiences of sexual harassment and abuse, within a wider study of disordered eating and attitudes towards doping control;
Denmark (Jan Toftegaard Nielsen) ~ a semi-structured survey and interviews with young adult male and female athletes about their experiences of sexual harassment and abuse;
Germany (Birgit Palzkill & Michael Klein), funded by the Nordrhein/Westfalen Government ~ details unknown;
Australia (Trisha Leahy, sport psychologist on the staff of the Australian Sports Institute) ~ a doctoral study, design yet to be confirmed.

Professional and academic groups which have commissioned keynote speeches on child protection include:
in Britain,
     the National Sports Development Seminar, Nottingham 1997;
     the GP Forum, Bristol 1997;
     the Leisure Studies Association International Conference, Leeds 1998;
and overseas,
     the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), Women's Task Force Conference, Seattle 1994;
     the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Congress, Minneapolis 1995;
     the European Sports Conference Women's Conference, Stockholm 1996;
     the International Society of Sport Psychology Congress, Israel 1997;
     the International Rowing Federation Annual Coaches Conference, Bulgaria 1997;
     the International Federation of Sports Medicine Congress, Orlando 1998.

5.2 Future priorities
It is not known whether any research projects on child protection in sport other than those described above are underway in this country but it is thought likely that there are since the level of interest in the topic appears to have grown exponentially since about 1993. Certainly, research in the related field of sex tourism is fairly active and there may be benefits in exchange of information between sport and tourism researchers. However, there are also possible dangers in unqualified researchers or students embarking upon research in such a field. Higher education courses in sport studies, leisure and recreation are beginning to include child/athlete protection issues within their curricula and this has led to a steady stream of undergraduate requests to C&GCHE for information and advice on essays, projects and dissertations. There is a need to establish some guidelines about the dangers of doing empirical work in this field, both for athletes and for students. With respect to this issue of doing sensitive research, a BASES Psychology Section workshop entitled Guilty Knowledge was organised by the C&GCHE research group in March 1995; the workshop addressed ethics in relation to research on sexual harassment/abuse, doping, racism and fraud.

International research into child/athlete protection has developed with the backing of both governmental and voluntary organizations. In Britain, the Sports Council, NCF and BOA have all endorsed grant bids but have yet to put any direct resourcing into research on this issue. Given the serious impact which abuse problems have on performance potential it could be argued that there is a case for re-examining whether the research priorities of the UKSC should include child/athlete protection work.

5.3 Recommendations
3 Establish a Child Protection in Sport Forum to share findings from research in cognate areas (such as sex tourism, child care, teaching).
4 Establish and disseminate advisory guidelines for tutors and researchers on the ethical and practical difficulties involved in sensitive research. Consider the merits of suggesting that no school or undergraduate student carry out empirical work in this field.
5 Seek ways to generate research funds to support further investigation into the personal, social and institutional parameters of child/athlete abuse and protection in sport.
6 Work collaboratively with academic institutions to endorse and support bids on this theme to research councils and charitable foundations.

6.0 Policy Developments

6.1 Major advances since 1985
Policy for child/athlete protection in British sport is not centrally co-ordinated. Indeed, the disparate nature of British sport makes co-ordination extremely difficult to achieve. Child abuse/protection encompasses far more than just coaching yet it has been left largely to the National Coaching Foundation to take a lead on the development of training for sport coaches and leaders (see below). Despite their best efforts, policy development has inevitably been patchy. (See also section 8.1 below.)

The NCF/NASC Code of Ethics and Practice constitutes a significant policy advance for the professionalisation of coaching in general and for child protection in particular. It was developed during a fairly tumultuous period in the relationship between the two organizations in the late 1980s/early 1990s but has now become a blueprint for sport organizations seeking to develop their own code. It is not known exactly how many NGBs have their own codes of practice or ethics at this time but the number has increased dramatically since the Hickson case. Sample materials are held at C&GCHE. Increasingly, sport organizations and/or those organizations with responsibility for youth sport are adopting child protection policies of their own. Some have developed these with advice from local social services personnel; others through contact with regional or national the NSPCC staff and still others through their own members who have specialist professional knowledge. Examples of good practice are held and could be disseminated via the proposed Clearing House (see Appendix II).

Relatively little is known about the permeation of national governing body (NGB) policies down to club level but what is known indicates that permeation is extremely poor (Summers 1998): child protection at club level in any given sport is as likely to succeed through the skills and knowledge of key individuals as through edicts from NGBs. It is certainly true that many NGBs have been keen to increase their knowledge of the issues and have sought training opportunities, and some have even appointed a single person to coordinate policy and practice. However, the liaison officers for different sports within each Regional Sports Council perhaps have a better chance of pressing home the need for action at club level than the NGBs themselves, since the latter are often seen as remote from local sport.

In 1994 a National Commission of Enquiry into Child Abuse and Neglect was established, chaired by Michael Grade, which resulted in the report 'Childhood Matters' (1997). A submission was made to the Commission in October 1994 from the research group at C&GCHE, representing a de facto position statement on the subject at that time: copies of this document were sent to the Sports Council and the NCF.

In June 1996 a submission was sent by the C&GCHE research group to Lord Cullen's Public Enquiry into the Dunblane Tragedy under the third of its terms of reference (voluntary sector vetting). The Scottish Sports Council is listed as having submitted under the term of reference concerning gun control not under voluntary sector vetting. Some weeks prior to the tragic events at Dunblane the Scottish Sports Council had replied to an enquiry from the C&GCHE research group regarding whether they had any plans to develop child protection work in Scotland: their response was that they did not. However, as one might expect, there appears to have been an increased awareness amongst sport officials in Scotland since that time and a degree of activity, one result of which has been the widespread distribution of a leaflet on child protection. Submissions were also sent from the C&GCHE research group to the Scottish Office in March 1997 and May 1997 in response, respectively, to the consultation documents 'Sex Offenders: A ban on working with children' and 'Proposals for setting up a national system of accreditation and vetting for adults working with children and young people in Scotland'.

At a day conference on child protection in sport in Belfast in October 1996, the Northern Ireland Sports Council undertook to investigate the possibility of establishing a task force of 'scrutineers' to assist sport organizations with retrospective criminal record checks of their staff and volunteers. There is no evidence at this time that such a proposal has been taken forward.

6.2 Future priorities
It is unclear whether or how the major sport providers for young people in Britain communicate on common interests in child/athlete protection. A letter from C&GCHE to the newly appointed Minister for Sport, Tony Banks MP, dated May 11 1997, which raised concern about this apparent lack of co-ordination for child protection was met with a reply that

On-going monitoring and awareness for confidential investigation of allegations of unethical behaviour and nature should be present in the infrastructure of governing body administration. The current work being undertaken by the UKSC to ensure robust governance and accountability will be able to identify where this is lacking.
(Mr. P Hunt, 6 August 1997).

We are unaware of specific proposals from the ESC relating to child/athlete protection. If that body does not prioritise ethical standards in sport, including child/athlete protection matters, then the ESC may be best placed to do so. However, the devolution of such responsibilities would present considerable logistical, political and symbolic difficulties. Those at the very top of British sport should lead by example.

The Youth Sport Trust has included child protection leaflets with each of its TOPS scheme equipment bags. Although this is a welcome move it is only a first step towards improving child protection in sport. No information on child protection is available from the CCPR. ILAM has turned down an approach for funding from the Community Education Development Centre for training materials for leisure managers but included an article on child protection in its monthly magazine The Leisure Manager and held a regional child protection seminar in South Wales in 1997. The Institute of Sport and Recreation Management has produced guidelines for sport and recreation centre managers which draws extensively from existing NCF sources (see section 9.1). Professional groups with a common interest in or responsibility for young people and sport would certainly benefit from a shared approach to policy development and implementation. The leaflet for adults other than teachers working in PE and schools sports programmes is one such example of collaboration, by BAALPE, PEA UK, the ESC and the NCF (see section 9.1).

Child/athlete protection within sport for people with disabilities is another area of urgent need. Participants are often vulnerable and may be unable to voice their concerns to others. At this stage, there appear to be no specific initiatives in this field although several individual enquiries have been made to C&GCHE from sport development officers with particular responsibility for people with disabilities.

A permissive approach to child protection in sport is unlikely to result in the adoption of comprehensive protection policies. There are precedents for the Sports Council requiring the inclusion of particular areas of policy in development plans for NGBs to qualify for grant aid (for example, gender equity). A directive approach is one way to improve child protection although, in itself, it cannot guarantee effective protection. Monitoring mechanisms are required to examine when, how and how successfully protection is implemented. It is also important to remember that both athletes and coaches/instructors require protection and that grievance and disciplinary procedures should be available to them under natural justice.

The major national sport organizations could act as examples of good practice by adopting their own child protection policies and practices and by making public their own monitoring data on an annual basis. The Sports Council's Doping Control Unit publishes an annual report which includes details of financial support, number and costs of compliance with international standards for doping control: there is an opportunity for the UKSC to take a lead internationally on child protection in sport by establishing a Child/Athlete Protection Unit and setting out proposals for equivalent international standards.

European and international charters on fair play in sport do not currently reflect child/athlete protection needs per se. However, these needs could be addressed through the existing policy frameworks on fair play/ethics and gender equity.

6.3 Recommendations
7 Make the adoption of a child protection policy (including monitoring plans) a standard criterion within the development plans/grant bids of all grant-eligible bodies to the Sports Councils, Lottery and other awarding bodies.
8 Recommend that all NGBs and their member regions/local groups adopt annual action plans for child protection (see Appendix 1) and reinforce/support this through the Regional Sports Council liaison officers.
9 Use the Child Protection in Sport Forum as a mechanism for sharing policy issues, good practice and advice between provision agencies.
10 Work with disability sport groups to audit policy, training and skills needs in respect of child/athlete protection and to develop action plans on the basis of the results.
11 Investigate whether child protection policy initiatives might be located within the context of existing frameworks for fair play and gender equity.

7.0 Advocacy

7.1 Major advances since 1985
Advocacy for child protection in sport between 1985 and 1993 emanated almost entirely from private individuals. Some of these sought redress for personal experiences, some knew of problems within their sport and sought to raise the issue in annual or general meetings, some were journalists who had come across incriminating material from sport and others were academic researchers. In very few of these cases was personal action effective in eliciting an organisational response.

Agency support for more effective child/athlete protection since 1993 has been led in Britain by the NCF, with the assistance of the NSPCC, and internationally by WomenSport International. The latter established a Task Force on Sexual Harassment in Sport in 1994, convened by Celia Brackenridge, and is currently producing an encyclopedia of women in sport for the International Olympic Committee which contains a specific section on personal safety/protection. The Women's Sports Foundation (USA) also established a Task Force on Sexual Harassment, co-chaired by Don Sabo and Carole Oglesby, which produced a set of training materials in 1994. The same year, another pack of materials was produced by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport (CAAW+S 1994). The Australian Sports Commission is understood to have appointed a child protection consultant recently.

7.2 Future priorities
Advocacy for child protection is ineffective without the support of the sport authorities in Britain and beyond. The debate about child/athlete protection must be championed by those in respected positions who have the ability and authority to place it on national sport agendas. The development of initiatives such as the Barclays Volunteer Investment Programme, World Class Start and World Class Potential, the National Junior Sport Programme and the proposed British Institute for Sport make it all the more important that child protection is automatically included when planning for the future of British sport.

One of the most important 'missing voices' in child protection matters at present is that of the athlete: athletes advocates would be a vital addition to any representative discussions about the future of child/athlete protection in this country. In addition to the elite level, recreational athletes would offer a dimension to the debate which is almost absent at present, since research and practice have focussed, for good reasons, on the performance and excellence end of the sport development continuum.

Athletes or others with cause for concern about abuse in sport occasionally use the Child Line and NSPCC telephone helplines, which are already heavily oversubscribed. However, experience from research at C&GCHE indicates that many athletes fear that they will not be taken seriously or that their sporting aspirations will not be understood if they try to talk with someone outside the context of sport. Consequently, many concerns go unreported or are reported so long after the original event that no effective action can be taken against perpetrators. In addition, years of silence and absence of personal support exacerbate the psychological trauma of suffering abuse. A dedicated national sport helpline might well encourage more reporting of worries, whether about abuses or other matters creating stress for athletes, and could be incorporated within the proposed Clearing House. In the Swindon area just such a telephone hotline was set up after problems with abuse had come to light. The impact of this hotline should be evaluated.

Media interest in the issues of sexual, physical and emotional abuse in sport is intense. Much of the coverage of such material on television and in the print media has been sensitively handled: some has not. Certain journalists have contributed positively to the development of child/athlete protection by putting otherwise hidden issues into the public domain and, in this way, they have acted as advocates of better child/athlete protection. Athletes, coaches, parents and administrators are generally not skilled in handling the media but in some notable cases they have found useful support and networking contacts through their interactions with journalists. In Canada, a media strategy was developed prior to the publication of a report on sexual harassment and abuse at Olympic level: the Canadian experience has already informed the preparations of sport organisations in Holland for dealing with similar Press interest. The UKSC and its partner organisations could well learn from and these examples and in so doing help to maximise the advantages and minimise the disadvantages of media attention. Some television and radio producers have been persuaded to arrange telephone helplines after specialist programmes on abuses in sport with the monitoring data from these being been made available for research purposes.

7.3 Recommendations
12 Designate a senior member of ESC staff to champion child/athlete protection work.
13 Include athlete advocates in any Forum discussions or policy planning.
14 Build in child/athlete protection elements (policy, training, monitoring) to all national sport initiatives.
15 Through the Clearing House, liaise closely with the WSI Task Force about its activities.
16 Establish a dedicated telephone helpline for sport-related enquiries.
17 Draw from the experience of international partners in preparing to handle media attention to abuse and protection issues.

8.0 Education and Training

8.1 Major advances since 1985
As a result of an initiative by one individual at the Royal Yachting Association in the late 1980s the NSPCC approached the NCF about the possibility of developing training materials for child protection in sport. The outcome of this collaborative process was the self-study pack 'Protecting Children ~ A Guide for Sportspeople' written by Maureen Crouch of the NSPCC's Training Unit (1995). This document has become the foundation for subsequent training courses, which include: one three-hour course aimed at front-line sports development workers, another targetted specifically at coaches (from 1998) and one six-hour course aimed at policy makers in NGBs and local authorities. Trainers for the both three hour courses have been prepared: they have already delivered many of the original courses throughout Britain. The first series of six-hour policy-oriented courses is being delivered in 1997/98, one in each of the ten England regions and one each in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Whilst the original three-hour course contributes to S/NVQ H4 it is not compulsory for all sports coaches or sports leaders. Most of the materials developed by the NCF and by individual NGBs draw extensively from existing, generic child protection materials, notably the Northern Ireland Volunteer Development Agency's 'Our Duty to Care' pack and the Home Office publication 'Safe From Harm' (see section 9.0 for details). The NCF has worked hard to incorporate examples from sport in their materials. Nonetheless, the balance needs to be struck in education and training on child protection, between recognition and referral for cases of intrafamilial abuse outside sport and good professional practice as protection within sport. Coaches and sports leaders not only need to develop the skills to recognise signs of child abuse which young people bring to sport but they also need to adopt the highest standards of care for those in their charge: training materials therefore need to reflect both these needs.

In addition to courses designed and delivered through the NCF, some regional standing conferences for sport, Sports Council regions, individual NGBs and local sports development (SD) organisations have delivered their own training events. These include: Eastern Regional Council for Sport and Recreation; London Association of Sports Development Officers (SDOs); GB Diving Federation; British Athletics Association; Physical Education Association UK (PEAUK), Birmingham region; Tayside SDOs; Hertfordshire SDOs; the Royal Life Saving Society; Northern Ireland Sports Council; National Coaching Centre for Wales. The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) and the Football Association (FA) have begun their own education and training initiatives, both with assistance from the NSPCC. The ASA might now be regarded as a model NGB in its approach to child protection since it has developed codes of practice, training events and publicity materials and has begun to monitor its membership of coaches and instructors for criminal convictions. However, systematic evaluation of these initiatives should be undertaken before they are more widely disseminated.

As a result of a briefing meeting on child protection held by the (English) Sports Council in January 1996 a national seminar for NGBs was held at C&GCHE in the July of that year. Over 130 delegates heard the two keynote addresses and attended two from a series of eight workshops run by personnel from the NCF, NSPCC and C&GCHE. Reports of the seminar were sent to all delegates.

8.2 Future priorities
Whilst sport administrators and coaches are now being made aware of child protection needs through the NCF, large gaps in education and training provision remain. Two groups, in particular, require urgent attention: these are the parents of young people in sport and the athletes themselves. These two constituencies are perhaps best placed to effect protection yet neither fall strictly within the remit of the NCF. People with disabilities, as mentioned above, also require specialist education and training provision.

Some of the professional and voluntary groups which would also benefit from education and training on child protection in sport have already sent delegates to seminars, conferences and training courses, for example, child care workers, play workers, youth leaders and Physical Education teachers (the PEA UK has recently asked for advice to develop curriculum materials for the latter). Since many voluntary sector youth organizations include sport or recreational activities as part of their programmes there would be merit in sharing the principles of child protection. First, it would be useful to apply knowledge and good practice developed elsewhere (for example in the Scout and Guide movement) to sport; secondly, it would be useful to offer the sport-related knowledge of abuse/protection from sport to these other organizations. The NSPCC has a reasonable overview of child protection initiatives in the voluntary sector but there appears to be no comprehensive audit of such schemes.

8.3 Recommendations
18 Commission education and training materials specifically for parents, athletes and disability sport groups.
19 Commission an agent to deliver, monitor and evaluate parent, athlete and disability group training.
20 Through the agency of the Forum, invite cognate leisure organisations to share good practice schemes and ideas.
21 Through the Clearing House, carry out an audit and review of child protection schemes across the sport and leisure sectors to draw out common elements.
22 Through the Clearing House, draw up a register of appropriate trainers and consultants skilled in child protection and with a working knowledge of sport who are able to give professional advice or assistance to local and regional sport groups.


9.0 Key resources

9.1 Practical and training resources on child protection

Brackenridge CH (ed.) (1996) Child Protection in Sport: Policies, Procedures and Systems. Report of a Sports Council Seminar for National Governing Bodies. Cheltenham: C&GCHE.

BAALPE, PEA UK, English Sports Council & National Coaching Foundation (undated) Guidelines for local education authorities, schools and colleges in the use of adults other than teachers in physical education and school sport programmes. Leeds: BAALPE/NCF Coachwise.

CAAW+S (1994) Harassment in sport: A guide to policies, procedures and resources. Ottawa: Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport.

CAAW+S (1994) What Sport Organisations Need to Know About Sexual Harassment. Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport, Ottawa.

Crouch, Maureen (1995) Protecting Children: A guide to sportspeople. Leeds: NCF/NSPCC.

Home Office/Smith, D (1993) Safe from harm. London: HMSO.

Institute of Sport & Recreation Management (1997) Child protection procedures for sport and recreation centres. Melton Mowbray: ISRM

Lenskyj, H. (1992a) Sexual harassment: female athletes' experiences and coaches' responsibilities. Sport Science Periodical on Research and Technology in Sport, Coaching Association of Canada, 12, 6, Special Topics B-1.

McGregor, Marg (1997) What parents can do about harassment in sport. Action, CAAW+S, Summer: 5-8.

National Coaching Foundation (1995) Code of ethics and conduct for sports caches. Leeds: NCF Coachwise.

National Coaching Foundation (1996) Child protection posters. Leeds: NCF Coachwise.

National Coaching Foundation (1996) Protecting children from abuse: A guide for everyone involved in children's sport. Leeds: NCF Coachwise.

National Coaching Foundation (1996) The successful coach: guidelines for coaching practice. Leeds: NCF Coachwise.

National Coaching Foundation (1997) Working with children: introductory study pack. Leeds: NCF Coachwise.

National Coaching Foundation (1996) Guidance for National Governing Bodies on Child Protection Procedures. Leeds: NCF/ASFGB: Leeds.

Tayside Voluntary Organisations Child Protection Group (1996) All Our Children: Voluntary Sector Guidelines for Protecting Children. Dundee: TVOCPG.

Women's Sports Foundation (1994) Prevention of sexual harassment in athletic settings: An educational resource kit for athletic administrators. WSF, NY.

WomenSport International (1997) Information leaflet on sexual harassment in sport. WSI/C&GCHE.

Volunteer Development Northern Ireland/Childcare (Northern Ireland) Our Duty to Care: principles of good practice for the protection of children.

Volunteer Development Scotland (undated) Protecting Children: A code of good practice for voluntary organisations in Scotland working with children and young people. Stirling: The Scottish Office.

 

9.2 Academic papers on sport, sexual harassment and abuse

Brackenridge, C.H. (1998) Healthy sport for healthy girls? The role of parents in preventing sexual abuse. Sport, Education and Society, 3 (1), 59-78.

Brackenridge CH & Kirby S (1997) Playing safe? Assessing the risk of sexual abuse to young elite athletes. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 32 (4), 407-418.

Brackenridge, C.H. (1997b) 'He owned me basically...' Women's experiences of sexual abuse in sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 32( 2), 115-130.

Brackenridge, C.H. (1997a) Researching sexual abuse in sport. In G. Clarke & B. Humberstone (eds.) Researching Women in Sport. pp 126-141. Macmillan, London.

Brackenridge CH, Summers D & Woodward D (1995) 'Educating for Child Protection in Sport.' In Lawrence, E, Murdoch E & Parker S (eds) Professional and Development Issues in Sport, Leisure and Physical Education. Brighton: Leisure Studies Association Publication, No. 56.

Brackenridge, C.H. (1994) Fair play or fair game: child sexual abuse in sport organisations. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 29 (3), 287-299.

Brackenridge, C.H. (1992) Sexual abuse of children in sport: A comparative exploration of research methodologies and professional practice. Paper to the Pre-Olympic Scientific Congress, Malaga, Spain, July 14-19.

Brackenridge, C.H. (1987) Ethical problems in women's sport. Coaching Focus, Leeds: National Coaching Foundation, Summer (6), 5-7.

Brackenridge, C.H. (1991) Cross-gender coaching relationships: Myth, drama or crisis? Coaching Focus, Leeds: National Coaching Foundation, Spring (16), 12-147.

Brackenridge, C.H. (under review) The paedophile and the Predator: Theorising sexual abuse in sport. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport.

Cense, M. (1997) Red card or carte blanche. NOC*NSF, The Netherlands.

Crosset, T. (1994) Are you crossing the line with an athlete? Unpublished paper, University of Massachussetts at Amherst.

Crosset, T. (1986) Male coach-female athlete relationships. Paper presented at the First Interdisciplinary Conference for Sport Sciences, Sole, Norway, November 15-16.

Crosset, T. (1989) The abusive coach: A preliminary description and analysis of abusive male coach-female athlete relationships. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Physical Education, Brandeis University.

Crosset, T. , Benedict, J. & McDonald (1996) Male student-athletes reported for sexual assault: a survey of campus police departments and judicial affairs offices. Journal of Sport and Social Issues. May, 126-140.

Hall, M. A. (1996) Feminism and sporting bodies: Essays on theory and practice. Human Kinetics; Champaign, Illinois.

Kane, M.J. and Disch, L.J. (1993) Sexual violence and the reproduction of male power in the locker room: "The Lisa Olsen incident". Sociology of Sport Journal, 10, 331-352.

Kirby, S. (1994) Not in my back yard: Sexual harassment and abuse in sport. Paper presented at the Commonwealth Games Conference, Victoria, BC, Canada.

Kirby, S. & Greaves, L. (1996) Foul play: sexual harassment in sport. Paper presented at the Pre-Olympic Scientific Congress, Dallas, Texas, USA, July 11-15.

Kolnes, L. (1992) Coaches, athletes and gender relations: questions of power, control and self- identity. Paper presented at the Pre-Olympic Scientific Congress, Malaga, July.

Lackey, D. (1990) Sexual harassment in sports. Physical Educator. 47(2), 22-26.

Lenskyj, H. (1986) Out of Bounds: Women, Sport and Sexuality. Toronto, Women's Press.

Lenskyj, H. (1992b) Unsafe at home base: Women's experiences of sexual harassment in university sport and physical education. Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal 1(1),19-34.

Pike Masteralexis, L. (1995) Sexual harassment and athletics: legal and policy implications for athletic departments. Journal of Sport and Social issues, May, 141-156.

Summers, D. (1998) Institutional responses to child abuse in voluntary sport and the Church of England (thesis pending completion). C&GCHE.

Volkwein, K. (1996) Sexual harassment in sport - perceptions and experiences of female student-athletes. Paper presented at the Pre-Olympic Scientific Congress, Dallas, Texas, USA, July 11-15.

Yorganci, I. (1993) Preliminary findings from a survey of gender relationships and sexual harassment in sport. In C. Brackenridge (ed) Body Matters: Leisure Images and Lifestyles. Brighton: Leisure Studies Association..

Yorganci I. (1994) Gender, sport and sexual harassment. PhD thesis, Chelsea School, University of Brighton.

 

9.3 Popular sources

Burton-Nelson, M. (1996) The stronger women get, the more men love football. Sexism and the American culture of sports. New York: Harcourt Brace.

Burton-Nelson, M. (1994) Are we winning yet? How women are changing sports and sports are changing women. New York: Random House.

Mewshaw, M. (1994) Ladies of the court: Grace and disgrace on the women's tennis tour. London: Warner Books.

Ryan, J. (1995) Pretty girls in little boxes: The making and breaking of elite gymnasts and figure skaters. London: Women's Press.

Appendix I

SPORT ORGANISATIONS ACTION PLAN FOR PROTECTION
AGAINST SEXUAL ABUSE IN SPORT

1 Establish/disseminate/advise on Codes of Ethics and Conduct

2 Offer systematic grievance & disciplinary systems

3 Investigate the benefits of registers & criminal record checks

4 Make child protection modules compulsory in coach education

5 Distribute information for parents, athletes and coaches

6 Establish simple contracts between parents, athletes and coaches

7 Set up an independent listener/helpline outside sport and NGBs

8 Adopt child/athlete-centred & democratic coaching styles

9 Strengthen links with child protection agencies

10 Provide support for the victim and the accused

11 Disseminate and reward good practice

12 Encourage debate

13 Commission research to increase knowledge

Appendix II

MODEL FOR A NATIONAL CLEARING HOUSE

Main functions:
         Information
         Education
         Advocacy
         Research
         Support and referral

INFORMATION
Collect and catalogue sources of information, leaflets, codes of practice, policy documents and other literature.

Prepare, update and distribute reading and references lists under appropriate headings.

EDUCATION
In collaboration with the NCF, design and deliver workshops and courses for non-coaching groups e.g. parents, athletes, sport-specific organizations, people with disabilities or learning difficulties.

ADVOCACY
Prepare, update and distribute sets of good practice case studies in policy and procedures.

Liaise with representatives from cognate fields to establish a register of experts for talks, lectures and training courses e.g. NCF, NSPCC, sports law, ethics in sport, sport and clinical psychology, gender and sport.

Prepare and disseminate briefing sheets on key issues e.g. facts and figures about harassment and abuse in sport; dealing with the media; where to get help if you have been harassed in sport; how to report your concerns about harassment in sport

Liaise with other similar groups to monitor international developments e.g. Task Force of WSF (US), Task Force of WomenSport International, government sports councils/units.

RESEARCH
Collect a catalogue of public domain examples of harassment and abuse of athletes of all ages, perpetrated within the context of sport and analyse these against demographic and other variables.

Collect research-based interview data with stakeholders in sexual harassment and abuse in sport (coaches, parents, athletes, adminisrators).

Prepare and submit bids to grant making bodies for further research into harassment and abuse
and workshop opportunities.

Carry out multidimensional analysis of risk factor data.

Develop and test predictive efficacy of theories of harassment and abuse in sport.

SUPPORT AND REFERRAL
Operate a telephone helpline for sport-related enquiries and catalogue these.

Refer helpline callers if they require specialist support e.g. via BSS Directory of Counselling Centres, Area Child Protection Committees/social services, NSPCC, police.

Appendix III

UPDATE ON PROGRESS SINCE FEBRUARY 1998

POLICY

The Council of Europe Committee for the Development of Sport (CDDS) commissioned a statement on the 'The problems women and children face in sport with regard to sexual harassment' in October 1998 from Prof. Celia Brackenridge (UK) and Prof. Kari fasting (Norway). This was followed by a meeting of experts in Strasbourg in February 1999 and placed on the CDDS agenda for further work,

Tony Banks met with Celia Brackenridge in October 1998 and agreed to look further into child protection in sport, linking this with the ESC's drive for ethical standards.

The government's Inter-departmental Working Group (Home Office, DfEE and Dept of Health) on Preventing Unsuitable People Working with Children and Abuse of Trust collated responses to a consultation document throughout Autumn of 1998. Several representatives of sport have been involved in this consultation over proposals for a Child Protection Bill (1999) and the implications of this for the leisure and sport sectors.

Organisations working with Celia Brackenridge on policies and procedures for their members/clients in the past year include:
- The England and Wales Cricket Board (policy launch due May 1999)
- Disability Sport England
- Rugby Football Union/RFUW
- Surrey County Council
- British Paralympic Association
- National Playing Fields Association
- Physical Education Association of UK (now withdrawn)
- Birmingham PEA
- City Of Gloucester , Leisure Management
- South Somerset District Council
- Swindon Borough Council Recreation Services

Additional Governing bodies known to have been working on policy development include:
- Netball (contact: Jan Turley)
- Football Association, in conjunction with the NSPCC
- Bristol Rovers Football Club
- Bath Rugby Club
- Gloucester County Cricket Club

INFORMATION

Celia Brackenridge at has delivered speeches and / or workshops on child protection:
- Eastern Region Sports Development Association (May 1998)
- Birmingham PE Association meeting (June 1998)
- Play 99, the national play conference in Sheffield (January 1999)
- British Association of Sports Medicine annual conference (due October 1999)

Fact Sheets on child protection or abuse in sport were published by:
- the Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management (July 1998)
- the Women's Sports Foundation in (January 1999)

Articles on child protection and abuse in sport have been written for:
- the Youth Sport Trust/Institute of Sport and Recreation Management (CB, March 1999)
- Play Worlds Magazine (CB with Vic Kerton, March, May & July 1999)
- British Journal of Sports Medicine (Rod Jaques MD with CB, for August 1999)
- Western Gazette (Gordon Clark of Sport England SW, spring 1999)
- Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal (CB with Marianne Cense 1999)
- International Triathlon Union newsletter (by Sarah Springman)
- 'Business of Sport', magazine of the W. Australian Ministry of Sport and Recreation (CB, Dec 1998)

Media coverage of the issues has been planned or delivered by:
- Channel 7 TV, Australia (Autumn 1998)
- Salsa Rock (TV company bid to Channel 4/March 1999)

The CCPR held a fully-attended briefing seminar for sport organisations in January 1999 to address the impact on sport of the proposed new legislation and Child Protection Bill.

EDUCATION

Avon & Somerset Constabulary (through DS Rob Jones) have developed and run a series of workshops/lectures for sports clubs and organisers to advise on basic child protection systems. Sponsorship has been achieved from HTV and Charity Action on Child Exploitation for the development and distribution of a video and pack of materials.

The NCF continue to develop their work in this area, now led by Sue Laws. A number of NCF child protection materials have been revised and updated. They have also agreed to pilot a course designed by Celia Brackenridge on Implementing Child Protection Policy, to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

ILAM included a day course on 'Protection for kids' (May 1998) in their annual programme of continuing professional development courses.

The Northern Ireland Centre for Learning Resources has produced materials for sport and leisure organizations (contact: Cora Robinson).

ADVOCACY

The NSPCC have convened a by-invitation seminar on June 14 1999 to review the state of child protection in sport. This has been done with the co-operation and endorsement of Rodney Walker, Chair of the UKSC.

The Netherlands Olympic Committee and Sports Federation have run a two year campaign to publicise athlete/child protection including leaflets, training courses, TV coverage, and extensive policy advice. This work was funded by the government (£200k) and the NOC*NSF (£100k). A specialist sports telephone help line was established and monitored, staffed by trained counsellors. Over 55 calls were received from sportspeople in the first year of operation. An analysis of the characteristics of these callers and their concerns is currently underway.

RESEARCH

A major international study is ongoing, funded by the Norwegian Olympic Committee, of 600 elite female athletes in Norway. The project's main focus is on disordered eating but it also includes a sub-study of experiences of sexual harassment amongst this group and a matched control from the Norwegian population. The research team for the sub-study is Prof. Kari Fasting and Prof. Celia Brackenridge. The first phase (a survey) is complete and phase II (in-depth-interviews) has begun.

In December 1998 Kris Malkin, a masters degree student at Cheltenham and Gloucester College of HE, completed a dissertation at on child protection training needs amongst sports development officers. This included an analysis of the delegates who had attended the NCF's 12 policy courses during the winter of 1997-98.

Four further postgraduate projects are underway at C&GCHE:
1. Joy Bringer has commenced a doctoral study of sexual abusers in sport and will be analysing over 100 cases of abuse and interviewing known abusers in order to test propositions about an sport abuser typology.
2. Sharn Jones, a sports development officer in Stratford, is carrying out a masters study of the role conflicts faced by SDOs trying to implement child protection policies.
3. Maurice McCarthy, a swimming and tennis coach, is doing an MSc by Research in which he will compare coaching norms and practices in tennis and swimming in relation to child protection.
4. Clare Hassall, studying for taught masters in Sports Development, is doing a joint project with Dr Lynne Johnston, which involves a large survey of both male and female sports students and coaches, to establish their perceptions and constructs of sexual harassment in sport. This study is an extended and revised version of one previously carried out in the USA by Karen Volkwein et al. The work has been endorsed by the NCF who have assisted with access to the coaching sample.

A postgraduate MPhil thesis on the law and child abuse in sport is being prepared currently by Yvonne Williams of Aberystwyth University and Nina Sohal of Anglia Sports Law Research Centre is also doing research in this field.

Annie Kerr, of Disability Sport England, is doing a research degree on child protection in sport at Bangor University.

In Denmark, Jan Toftegaard completed his masters thesis on coach-athlete interpersonal boundaries and harassment. His results have been widely publicised in the Danish Press and the Danish Olympic Committee have taken up policy work on the basis of this study. Jan is now embarking on a doctoral scholarship.

The research done by Marianne Cense that was commissioned by the Netherlands Olympic Committee and Sports Federation has since been used to inform a multi-faceted initiative (see above). The research project report has an English summary.

The Swiss Olympic Committee has put some funds into a research initiative led by Suzi Kathi Jost (1998-99).

In Germany, the Nordrhein-Westfalen government funded a study of sexual harassment in sport by Birgit Palzkill and Michael Klein. This has now been published, in German only.

SUPPORT AND REFERRAL

Very little has in the way of sport-specific support services has been developed. The Broadcasting Support Services Survivors Directory of counselling outlets is a useful resource for general referral purposes, as are the 24 hour helplines for the NSPCC and ChildLine.

A voluntary self-help group has been formed by some of the contacts involved in research with Celia Brackenridge. Details of the group's convenor are available on request.

 

 

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