Protecting child athletes

Abstract

Members of the athlete medical/sport science support team must be confident that athletes are benefitting from treatment, and that they are not victims of medical mismanagement. Athletes must not be treated differently to any other patient in society. This chapter discusses why protection of the child athlete is necessary, and how child athletes can be subjected to psychological abuse, which may form the gateway to other types of abuse. These can include physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect, all of which are prevalent in all sports and at all levels. It also covers particularly vulnerable groups of child athletes, including the elite, the disabled, and the LGB (lesbian, gay, bisexual) athlete populations. It covers the many sport organizations working in the field of child athlete protection, as well as the existing statutes governing the rights and freedoms of children in sport.

‘Knowing we have these rights does not always mean we feel free to use them’: athletes’ perceptions of their human rights in sport

“…Once one is labelled an athlete, ‘it is frequently the case that their identity as (human beings) first is lost and their rights as (human beings) are eroded’,60 paving the way for a range of rights violations, including: excessive intensive physical training; psychological, physical, sexual abuse and neglect; violence on and off the field of play; doping; economic exploitation; displacement; trafficking and sale (eg, athlete contracts); transfers and reduction of freedom of association; limits to the right to education; and limits to civil rights and freedoms of athletes 7 60. This is the fundamental disconnect: sport can become more dangerous when human rights are not integrated with sport.…”