What should it look like and where should it go? So far, the resources are still lacking
Rarely has the discussion about a sports policy topic picked up speed as quickly as the protection of athletes from sexualised violence. After the organization “Athleten Deutschland” suggested setting up a national center for “Safe Sport” in its “impulse paper” a year ago, a feasibility study commissioned by the Federal Ministry of the Interior has now come to a clear conclusion: Yes, such a center is absolutely necessary in this country. The existing structures are not sufficient and certainly not independent enough from organized sport to master the problem, which is as delicate as it is sensitive.
»After all, the need for a new, central, independent facility for safe and non-violent sport is beyond dispute. The needs are diverse and extend to the intervention, processing and prevention of cases of sexualized violence. In the area of intervention in specific cases of suspicion and abuse, there is a lack of a central, nationwide and independent contact point for victims of sexualised violence, which would refer those affected to other (decentralized) offices if necessary, accompany state procedures in the interests of victims of sexualised violence and At the same time, independent disciplinary proceedings against suspects/perpetrators are made possible,« says the recommendations for action in the 77-page report on a »facility for safe and non-violent sport«.
Great demand
This study, presented by Professor Martin Nolte, advocates that the central facility to be established should deal with “the entire spectrum of popular and competitive sports” and not just be limited to top-class sport. »The cross-sectoral need for prevention, intervention and processing in the area of interpersonal, especially sexualized violence in sport forces us to make this recommendation«. At the same time, it is warned not to overwhelm the center for “Safe Sport” and to reject requests for additional tasks. The projected “facility for safe and non-violent sport” should focus on sexualized violence and other forms of interpersonal (physical and psychological) violence and not also deal with other sports topics such as match and betting manipulation, good governance, racism and anti-Semitism.
Basically, according to the conclusion of the study, “there is a great need for an independent processing of current and past cases of sexualised violence by the sports organizations in the interest of those affected and to improve existing and future preventive measures”. The existing structures lacked the resources for this. The existing offer is thus “inversely proportional to the need and benefit” of processing for the improvement of training and intervention measures.
The background for these findings are the first surveys, which brought to light a worrying extent in a special interpersonal area. “The closeness and trust between athletes on the one hand and coaches, supervisors and officials on the other hand,” the study outlines its subject, “poses particular sport-specific dangers for the use of violence of any kind.”
What can follow from this proximity in everyday training and practice was illustrated by the very first online survey on the subject among 1,799 senior athletes six years ago. A third of them stated that they had already experienced some form of sexualized violence. One in nine of the squad athletes even stated that they had been affected by severe and/or prolonged sexualized violence in sport.
Sobering finding
These statements were confirmed by the “SicherImSport” research project in mass and leisure sports that was carried out last year. Of a total of 4,367 club athletes surveyed, 26 percent stated that they had experienced sexualized boundary violations or harassment (without physical contact) at least once, for example in the form of lewd remarks or unwanted text/image messages with sexual content. Almost a fifth of those surveyed reported having experienced sexualized harassment or violence involving physical contact – e.g. B. to have experienced sexual touching or sexual acts against their will. Almost two thirds of the recreational athletes stated that they had experienced emotional injuries or violence in club sport at least once, i.e. had been insulted, threatened or excluded. 37 percent of those who took part in the survey experienced physical injury or violence at least once. Overall, the study came to the conclusion that 69 percent of all respondents stated that they had had some form of negative experience with interpersonal violence in connection with club sport at least once.
This contrasts with a fact that Martin Nolte made public for the first time in his study. Around 40 percent of the approximately 90,000 sports clubs – that would be around 36,000 clubs – are »not at all or rather not« involved in the area of child protection and prevention of sexualized violence. “This finding is sobering and is in inverse proportion to the importance of preventing sexualized violence,” the author concludes. His feasibility study left unanswered questions about what the national center for “Safe Sport” should look like and where it should be located, and what the costs of the center would be. According to a rough estimate, at least EUR 300,000 a year can be estimated for staff.
