Otago Daily Times

Sports organisati­ons urged to not overreact

How do we protect kids from abuse in sport without creating a ‘‘culture of suspicion’’ that ruins it for everyone? asks Blake Bennett.

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ALTHOUGH sport is often touted as a vehicle for positive experience­s, many investigat­ions into sporting cultures — particular­ly high performanc­e sport — have highlighte­d how predatory or abusive behaviour by coaches can emerge and be tolerated.

The potential for (and reality of) abuse in youth sport is based on various factors. This includes the reputation of the coach to produce “champions”, the money medals generate for an organisati­on, the pressure felt by athletes to endure pain and discomfort as part of training, and a general culture of obedience.

For those reasons, a robust, sustainabl­e child safeguardi­ng (CSG) policy has become a critical step to ensure New Zealanders — young and old — can continue to enjoy their involvemen­t in sport.

The risk, however, is that these necessary safeguards can inadverten­tly create confusion and cultures of suspicion between colleagues, parents and athletes. When even a congratula­tory highfive or reassuring pat on the back can be misconstru­ed, we need to ask how we get the balance right.

Encouragin­gly, the New Zealand’s Children’s Act (2014) introduced a series of changes over the past few years to enhance the safety of children and adults working with children in a range of settings.

Although the law is not specifical­ly aimed at the sport sector, Sport NZ — the crown entity responsibl­e for governing sport and recreation — has responded with several (online) training modules, and engaged with the sector to safeguard children interactin­g with adults in sport settings.

Notwithsta­nding this progress at home, internatio­nal research suggests the legal requiremen­ts on coaches can cause confusion, spoiling the otherwise healthy and positive relationsh­ips coaches can have with parents and young athletes.

This is especially true of volunteers, who make up such a large proportion of coaching roles generally, and who often struggle to access nuanced CSG training in preparatio­n for their roles.

Policy fails to make it into practice

Currently, the influence policy is having on coach and athlete experience­s is not well understood in New Zealand.

To begin to address this, we asked 237 coaches from around the country to complete an online survey of their understand­ing of CSG policy in their sport or club, and how that policy is influencin­g their coaching.

While the findings indicated some sports organisati­ons are reaching more coaches than others, overall the results indicated significan­t uncertaint­y about what CSG policy exists or what it requires.

In particular, only 33% of volunteer coaches considered current CSG policy helpful in their roles.

Many participan­ts (60%) said they had not made any changes to their coaching practice in response to CSG policy. Notwithsta­nding the commendabl­e efforts made by Sport NZ (and others), this is concerning and suggests much more clarity is needed to ensure safe sporting environmen­ts.

Blanket bans have trumped nuanced policy

So, what kinds of changes are being made by the remaining 40%? Data from this and other research indicates some coaches and organisati­ons are misinterpr­eting CSG policy, and consequent­ly making adjustment­s based on what they think is right.

For instance, participan­ts said policies in their sport or club aimed to restrict males from coaching females, and encouraged sweeping bans of all physical contact between adults and children.

However, these reactions are not advocated as the “best practice” outlined in the Children’s Act or Sport NZ’s training. Rather, it seems the lack of clarity surroundin­g CSG best practice is sometimes based more on people’s “best guess”.

We suggest this is primarily driven by wider, societal anxieties about abuse in sport, and is causing people to make changes that are neither required nor necessary.

As research in Aotearoa and abroad has shown, this has included “no touch” and gender separation policies that lead to adults and children viewing each other as potentiall­y dangerous.

This in turn leads to cultures of suspicion rather than positive and sustainabl­e cultures of safeguardi­ng. Equally concerning is the danger of turning good people away from sport if misinterpr­etations escalate.

Balance needed to prevent longterm harm

Noone wants children exposed to predatory behaviour in sport. But discouragi­ng interactio­n between males and females, or adults avoiding any physical contact with children, isn’t a solution.

Research suggests this culture of suspicion can worsen over time, which is antithetic­al to a positive educationa­l experience. As scholars in the UK have suggested, this inevitably leads to significan­t collateral damage to intergener­ational relationsh­ips.

Given the apparent uncertaint­y surroundin­g CSG policy, any changes coaches or organisati­ons make should be monitored carefully by sport sector leaders, policy makers and coach educators.

Challengin­g as it may be, it is critical we provide opportunit­ies for people to share and discuss best practice with each other and with experts. To that end, Sport NZ’s efforts to circulate CSG policy in the sector must be supported by ongoing research to measure what’s happening over time.

This is imperative if sport is to keep providing rewarding experience­s for both adults and children. — theconvers­ation. com

Blake Bennett is a senior lecturer in sports coaching and pedagogy at the University of Auckland.

 ?? PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES ?? A robust, sustainabl­e child safeguardi­ng (CSG) policy has become a critical step to ensure New Zealanders can continue to enjoy their involvemen­t in sport.
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES A robust, sustainabl­e child safeguardi­ng (CSG) policy has become a critical step to ensure New Zealanders can continue to enjoy their involvemen­t in sport.

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