The upside of a public health approach to safeguarding athletes

01/22/25

By Blake Davidson, Executive Vice President, RealResponse

RealResponse is invested in elevating athletes’ voices at all stages of their sports careers. By offering a safe, anonymous platform for two-way communication, we ensure everyone has a chance to be heard.

Getting involved in sports can be a life-defining moment. For some of us, it’s the beginning of a favorite hobby, or an inroad to making new friends. For others, it’s a path to educational opportunities that we may not be able to afford otherwise. For a fortunate few, it’s the precursor to a professional career.

And despite these undeniable benefits, at all levels of sport, there are risk factors that threaten athlete health, safety and wellbeing. Online bullying has become so rampant and severe that the English Football Association is funding police efforts against abusers. Over the last two decades, suicide has become the second most common cause of death among NCAA athletes. More than 20% of women have experienced a form of sexual abuse at least once as a child in sport. 

According to the leaders of Safe Sport International (SSI)—a global organization dedicated to ending interpersonal violence, abuse and harassment in all sports environments—to address these issues, we need to first zoom out.

“Abuse happens across society. We see dealing with abuse and harassment in sports as part of a public health concern,” says Anne Tiivas OBE, the Chair of SSI.

We sat down with Anne and her colleague Neal Anderson, Chief Operating Officer of SSI, to discuss their safeguarding philosophy, the need for more global collaboration to protect athletes, and the complexities of crafting an equitable safe sport framework.

The breadth and depth of safeguarding requires the right partners

Protecting athletes around the world, across all sports, is an ambitious mission that can take on multiple forms. For SSI, safeguarding is about not just responding to threats and abuse but preventing them altogether. It’s also wider in scope compared to disciplines like sports integrity.

“[Safeguarding] recognizes the incalculable damage that is done when someone experiences abuse and harassment in sport, and the need for a trauma-informed approach to how we deal with the issue,” says Tiivas. “It’s not just about rules-based infringements or prosecuting wrongdoing. It’s about recognizing that these issues can affect athletes, communities and sports organizations, often for many decades.”

Building systems that reinforce a positive culture across sports—and that support the victims, family members and teammates impacted by abuse—is no small feat. Just as government agencies, healthcare providers and schools play a role in addressing public health issues, robust safeguarding takes a village.

“If we’re going to have effective prevention, response and remedy in the safe sport space, we can’t do it alone. You need a truly multidisciplinary approach, but one also centered on the voices of those who are most affected,” says Neal Anderson.

SSI relies on a growing network of partners to bring cohesion to safeguarding practices and amplify the impact of their work. This includes collaborating with advocacy groups, government entities, sports organizations, research institutions and even corporate partners.

The elements of crafting an international safe sport framework

A core focus of SSI’s 2024-2026 strategic plan is to drive international safe sport standards that protect athletes across regions and contexts.

In practice, this encompasses a number of activities, including work across public and private sector entities to create and enforce a shared safe sport framework.

To build a set of principles that can be applied across different contexts and geographies, SSI’s leadership is focused on the following:

  • Designing from the margins in. Rules and procedures that accommodate elite teams can’t be copied 1:1 for amateur sports or small community clubs. Organizations like SSI have to choose their starting point strategically. As Tiivas explains, “It’s really important to look carefully at how you design for the most affected, the most marginalized, those in the most challenging situations. Those standards are more likely to work for everybody than if you just design for the top end of a group.”
  • Promoting access to resources for everyone, everywhere: Today, many safeguarding resources and training are restricted to professional or otherwise “sanctioned” sports via legislation or compliance codes. Much like access to healthcare depends on location, socioeconomic status and other factors, access to robust athlete protections depends on the level of sport you’re involved in. “Plenty of sport happens within private leagues, non-Olympic or Paralympic organizations and grassroots activities, where there may be limited resources to make safeguarding arrangements,” says Tiivas. “These environments are incredibly attractive to people seeking to cause harm—which is why a public health approach is so necessary.”
  • Capturing the voice of the athlete: Safeguarding doesn’t end with addressing bad behavior. It’s about creating a positive, inclusive and equitable environment for all athletes to thrive. Maintaining this kind of culture can only happen when athletes feel empowered to share their concerns or report wrongdoing. “Things often go wrong at that very first point where somebody picks up the phone or starts an email to let somebody know that something’s happening to them,” says Tiivas. “It’s so important to have systems that are immediate, confidential and that give people confidence to take control of their situation.” Any effective framework must encourage adoption of accessible, anonymous reporting platforms to ensure athletes can always be heard.

Good sport starts with safety and inclusivity for all

Plenty of the time, organized sports are a haven for children and adults, particularly those with volatile lives at home or school. Teammates and coaches become the eyes and ears of at-risk individuals who may have no one else, or no place else, to turn. 

As Anderson says, “We believe in the transformative power of sport and that in the heart of every athlete, coach, parent and official beats the desire for safety, respect and fair play.”

With the right safeguarding infrastructure, protection and support become prerequisites—not luxuries—across all sports environments.