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Child Protection in Sport Unit

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The prevalence of child abuse in sport

An overview of the problem

To date there have been limited research studies into child abuse in sport. As a result, there are insufficient statistics available to give an accurate estimate of the extent of the problem.

In addition, the statistics that do exist give an incomplete picture because:

• harassment and abuse often go unreported for a wide variety of reasons
  
  
• some abuse that is identified may not be recognised as sports-related
  
  
• there are no generally accepted professional definitions of what constitutes harassment or abuse in sport.

The limited evidence available shows that sport does not present any more risk than a wide range of other activities that children take part in.

However, some serious high-profile cases in recent years have raised awareness of the issue. They appear to have increased the number of young people reporting abuse.

These cases have prompted many sporting bodies to address the problem, and to develop positive steps to reduce risk of abuse and improve their response to allegations of abuse.

As regards the many disabled children and young people who enjoy sporting activities, there have been no studies to date that looked specifically at abuse they may have experienced. However, research outside sport has shown that some abusers target disabled children, and that they are generally more likely to be abused than non-disabled children.

For further information about our work, please contact the Child Protection in Sport Unit

Help for children & young people

ChildLine

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Help for adults concerned about a child

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