CHILD PROTECTION IN BRITISH SPORT ~ A
POSITION STATEMENT*
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
*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.
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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