The Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse Truth Project Into Abuse In Sport

• Published date: 06 August 2020
• Subject Matter: Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment, Criminal Law, Sport, Crime
• Law Firm: Leigh Day
• Author: Ms Catriona Rubens

The Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA)'s Truth Project into child sexual abuse in sport was a valuable opportunity to learn from player and athlete survivors. With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics postponed, the report's publication this month has coincided with a possibility for reflection and change across all fields of sport in the UK

This opportunity has been sorely missed by IICSA, which only managed to take accounts of 64 survivors of abuse in sporting contexts. Contrast this with the NSPCC's helpline for abuse in football, which received 860 calls in its first week when it was set up in 2016. The problem is not a lack of individuals willing to speak out, but rather a failure by the Inquiry to ensure that their voices were heard

IICSA has rightly acknowledged that the small sample does not reflect the findings of other investigations

None of the participants mentioned a desire to progress in their sporting career as a reason why they did not speak out against abuse. This fails to account for the huge power a coach often wields over ambitious athletes, particularly when they are responsible for training, attendance at competitions, and selection for national squads

The wider structures of high-pressured sports often reinforce the coach's power and prevent young athletes from feeling safe enough to raise concerns

This has been starkly exposed recently by young British gymnasts who have spoken out against an environment of "fear and mental abuse" in Team GB.

Medal winning athletes Ellie and Becky Downie say it has taken years to for them to come to terms with the conditions they trained and grew up in.

It is only by recognising the environment and culture that surrounds child abuse in sports that we can remove the opportunities for perpetrators to act:

• The coach / athlete relationship is often uniquely intense, particularly at elite levels, and takes place when the athlete is young and impressionable. Sporting success can depend on doing exactly what the coach says, without question.
• So often, a young athlete's self-esteem and sense of themselves is inextricably linked to their performance. Fear of jeopardising their prospects or place on the team sits side by side with their passion for the sport.
• Sports can require legitimate physical touch by the coach, to readjust positioning or demonstrate technique. Perpetrators can hide behind the guise of carrying out their role to engage in increasingly abusive behaviour.
• Trips away to competitions or...