Child abuse & sport: What to look out for
Most Australian children participate in some kind of organised sport. As a parent or carer, being able to recognise the signs that your child may have experienced abuse in a sporting context is vital. Children and young people may tell an adult about the abuse occurring (what is known as a disclosure), however more often they will not.
If you are reading this because you are worried about a child, the signs below may help. You do not need to be certain to act.
Look out for:
Refusal to attend training - Children may appear belligerent or uncooperative as they may not be able to verbalise what is happening to them at training. Behaviour is communication. A persistent refusal to attend training is not typically a sign of laziness but may be a sign that abuse is occurring.
Injuries - Particularly repeated injuries or those that were left untreated or when there are differing versions of how an injury occurred (coach and athlete’s stories do not match up).
Disclosures - These may be subtle: a child may tell you a story of someone else being abused at sport, when they really mean themselves.
Sexual behaviour - For example, seeking inappropriate adult affection, talking about sexual acts or pornography or asking sexualised questions (that are inappropriate to the age of the child).
Disruptive/anxious behaviour - Nightmares/bedwetting/going to bed fully-clothed or extreme attention-seeking behaviour, aggressive behaviour or bullying.
School - A marked dip in school performance, or truancy, or no longer engaging in social relationships with peers (not seeing friends anymore).
Body image distortions - Failure to gain weight or grow at the expected rate for their age, a loss of weight or refusal to eat, dieting behaviour, or speaking negatively about their body, i.e., ‘too weak’, ‘too fat’.
Take home message for parents
Children may not to tell you that their sporting environment has become abusive. This is particularly true of elite athletes who are dedicated to their sports, and who may fear being ‘pulled out’ if they disclose to parents and carers what is happening to them. This is why it is important to know the signs. Even with all the safeguards in the world, abusive people will still enter and exist within the sporting environment.
The best thing you can do as a parent to ensure your child is safe at sport is to attend training and competitions; be wary of any sporting organisation that discourages parental presence and involvement. Evidence shows that abuse is far more unlikely to occur when there are direct witnesses. If it is not possible for you to attend training and competition, then consider ‘sharing the load’ and organising a parent roster, where one parent attends each session.
If you are worried about your child
Stay calm and listen. If your child tells you something, let them speak in their own time. Your reaction is what they will remember.
Do not press for details. Avoid questioning them closely or suggesting answers. It can distress the child, and it can complicate any investigation that follows. You do not need the whole story to act.
Write down what was said. As soon as you can, record their words as closely as you can remember, with the date. Do not rewrite it in your own language.
Believe them, and tell them so. Say clearly that you believe them, that it is not their fault, and that they did the right thing by telling you.
Report it. If a child is in immediate danger, call 000. Otherwise contact the police, or the child protection authority in your state or territory. You do not need proof and you do not need to be certain. Reporting a concern is not an accusation.
Look after yourself too. Supporting a child through this is exhausting. The services on our support resources page are there for you as well.
If you would like to talk it through with us, you can contact us at support@athleterightsaustralia.org.