Safeguarding, Child Protection and Abuse in Sport: International Perspectives in Research, Policy and Practice

The safeguarding of children and young people participating in sport has become an increasingly prominent concern in policy-making and research communities around the world. Major organisations such as the IOC and UNICEF now officially recognize that children in sport can be at risk of exploitation and abuse, and this concern has led to the emergence of new initiatives and policies aimed at protecting vulnerable young people and athletes. This book is the first to comprehensively review contemporary developments in child protection and safeguarding in sport on a global level.

The book is divided into two parts. Part One critically analyses current child protection and safeguarding policy and practice in sport across a range of countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, China and Germany, providing a global context for current policy and practice. This represents the most comprehensive review to date of the landscape of child protection and safeguarding in sport and provides a starting point for critical international comparisons. Part Two explores a range of issues related to child protection and safeguarding in sport, including many not covered in previous books, such as emotional abuse, injury and over-training. While in many instances the impetus for policy in this area has arisen from concerns about sexual abuse, the second part of this book therefore opens up a broader, more holistic approach to child and athlete welfare.

By bringing together many of the leading researchers working in child and athlete protection in sport from around the world, this book is important reading for all advanced students, researchers, policy-makers or practitioners working in youth sport, physical education, sports coaching, coach education or child protection.

Melanie Lang is a senior lecturer at Edge Hill University. Her research has focused on child abuse within sport contexts. Recent publications include a review of this field for the Directory of Sport Science (6^th ed.) published by the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE).

Mike Hartill is a Senior Lecturer in Child Protection in Sport at Edge Hill University and a former British international youth swimmer and journalist. Her research centres on safeguarding/child protection in youth sport and I sit on the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit Research Evidence and Advisory Group.