Official Documents: Charters of Rights, International Conventions and Treaties
This section recommends the official documents of various national and international agencies and associations, operating in the field of health and protection of minors in sports.
- Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989: The Convention on the rights of the child, in the articles 19, 29 and 31, defines the legislative and administrative measures to be adopted for the protection of the psycho-physical health of minors.
- EU White Paper on Sport, 2007: In paragraph 4.5, the European Commission recognizes various dimensions of abuse, such as the abandonment of a minor not selected for a competition in a foreign country, and the promotion of the collaboration of Member States in fighting the maltreatment of minors in sport.
- Protecting children from violence in sport, 2010: A fundamental UNICEF document describing the phenomenon of abuse in sports, targeting industrialized Countries. It also suggests best practices necessary for the prevention of violence against children in sport
- International Olympic Committee Consensus Statement: Harassment and Abuse (Non-Accidental Violence) in Sport, 2016:
This “Consensus Statement” sets out the different types of abuse in sport, such as physical and sexual violence, psychological abuse and neglect. Structural and cultural remedies are presented, as well as practical recommendations for athletes and anyone who works in contact with them.
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Conclusions of the Council of Europe and of the representatives of the governments of the member states, on the protection of minors in sport, 2019: A treaty in which EU Member States recognize the importance of sport and promote good practices for the protection of minors and the prevention of abuse in sports.
- Decree for the establishment of a technical table for the protection of minors in sport – Sports Department presidency of the council of ministries, 2021: The Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Italy constitutes a technical table and an operational nucleus for a process of co-construction and promotion of a policy for the protection of minors in the world of sport.
Scientific research: Evidence on mistreatment and abuse in sport
This section reports the results of international scientific research carried out on populations of athletes who have been victims of mistreatment and abuse during their sports career, with particular attention to the negative consequences on their well-being.
- Child maltreatment in sport: smashing the wall of silence: a narrative review of physical, sexual, psychological abuses and neglect. Di Fortier e colleghi, 2020;
- Safeguarding the child and adolescent athlete. Di Lamb e colleghi, 2018.
In these two narrative reviews of international literature, freely available, the authors describe the extent and prevalence of abuse on young athletes, presenting the consequences on the psychophysical well-being of maltreatment with perspectives of prevention and awareness.
- Initiating and Sustaining Emotional Abuse in the Coach–Athlete Relationship: An Ecological Transactional Model of Vulnerability. Di Stirling e Kerr, 2014;
- Verbal abuse from coaches is associated with loss of motivation for the present sport in young athletes: A cross-sectional study in Miyagi prefecture. Di Yabe e colleghi, 2019;
- “It Was the Worst Time in My Life”: The Effects of Emotionally Abusive Coaching on Female Canadian National Team Athletes. Di Kerr e colleghi, 2020.
These empirical researches, available for consultation at the links, describe the short and long-term effects of psychological violence and emotional abuse on young, illustrating the consequences both in terms of performance and in terms of psycho-relational functioning.
- Profiling perpetrators of interpersonal violence against children in sport based on a victim survey. Di Vertommen e colleghi, 2017;
- Severe interpersonal violence against children in sport: Associated mental health problems and quality of life in adulthood. Di Vertommen e colleghi, 2018;
- Child Protection in Voluntary Sports Clubs in Germany — Factors Fostering Engagement in the Prevention of Sexual Violence. Di Rulofs e colleghi, 2019;
- Factors facilitating child abuse in sports in Turkey: The case of elite athletes. Di Cetin e Hacısoftaoğlu, 2020.
These researches, of which only the abstract is available, focusing on the physical and sexual violence against minors in sports. The most frequent types of abuse, their prevalence and the effects on the mental health of young athletes are described.
