1.5 Why is culture important?
If your organisation or sport has a culture which values everyone, from the most senior manager to the most junior athlete, then people will be more likely to speak up if they see something bad happening. This is one way that culture can impact on how safeguarding works in practice.
Think about the culture of your organisation
Take a moment to reflect on your own organisation’s culture.
Below are some opposing words (for example, respectful or dismissive) that describe different kinds of organisation characteristics. Think about which words best apply to your organisation and what this could mean for people taking part in your sport:
| Respectful | Dismissive |
| Inclusive | Exclusive |
| Transparent | Closed |
| Strong | Weak accountability |
| People feel safe to speak up | They feel unsafe |
| Open to learning | Closed to learning |
| Person-centred | Sport-centred |
| Decentralised power for many | Centralised |
| Uninformed by trauma | Informed by trauma experiences |
All these characteristics make up the culture of your organisation.
Some might be helpful for safeguarding – like being ‘inclusive’ or ‘open to learning’. Some might be damaging to safeguarding, like having ‘centralised power’ or not being ‘person-centred’.
Whatever the current situation in your organisation, we all have a role to play in building a culture that helps keep everyone safe.
1.4 What is culture?
