Why is safeguarding in sport important?

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An illustration of an iceberg, a small part of it above the water line, most of it below the water line. The words, the tip of the iceberg, are written across the image.

There is a saying about ‘the tip of the iceberg’ only showing a small part of what is underneath the water.

Is this true for abuse and harm in sport, and society more broadly?

Sport is an important part of daily life for many people. However, there are unfortunately many examples of where people have suffered abuse in sport.

Let's now look at three news headlines that are based on true events.

Why is safeguarding important?

Click on the image below and use the arrows to read through the headline stories. Then complete the activities that follow the headlines.

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Are talented athletes or players more at risk of suffering abuse or violence?

Research shows that sport is not free from the problem of abuse or violence. It's also clear that the risk of abuse rises as a athletes or players progresses up the talent ladder and that children themselves can also cause harm to other children, especially bullying, but also peer-to-peer sexual harassment and abuse.

This suggests that what we see in the news is only ‘the tip of an iceberg’.

The failure to safeguard not only hurts individuals, but it can also undermine the growth of your sport and its integrity. We all need to think about how to put safeguarding at the centre of what we do in sport.

What does safeguarding include?

Can we identify risks before something bad happens?