All athletes should benefit from Safe Sport, meaning all children and adults involved in sports activities should be able to train and compete in healthy and supportive environments. Safe Sport refers to an athletic environment that is respectful, equitable and free from all forms of non-accidental violence towards athletes.
Safeguarding children in sport is defined as the actions we take to ensure that all children are safe from harm. It implies that the authorities responsible for sport, sports organisations and other relevant stakeholders ensure that sport is a safe, positive and enjoyable experience for all children, who are protected from harassment and abuse when participating in indoor and outdoor activities, in all capacities and at all levels.
Public authorities and sports organisations are increasingly taking meaningful action to create safer and healthier environments for children and young athletes. To support them in this often challenging process, the “Start to Talk” project, run by the Council of Europe’s Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS), provides technical support for the development of child safeguarding policies, the organisation of awareness raising campaigns and the training of relevant stakeholders.
Cyprus responded to the “Start to Talk” call for action by launching a national campaign on 18 September 2024. On this occasion, EPAS and the Cyprus Sport Organisation co-organised a launch conference “for better protection of children in sport” which brought together the Cypriot authorities responsible for sport and child protection, representatives of sports organisations and clubs, NGOs specialising in child protection and experts on child protection in sport. The different stakeholders exchanged views on the current major challenges in child protection in sport and best practices to tackle these challenges.
The conference was preceded by a training course on child protection for child safeguarding officers of sports organisations on 16 and 17 September, also organised in collaboration with the Cyprus Sport Organisation. This training course offered participants an approach to trauma-informed practice, allowing them to better understand the pervasive nature of trauma (that has occurred in, through and around sport) and promote environments of healing and recovery rather than sport practices that may inadvertently re-traumatise.
More information
Conference "For better protection of children in sport" (18 September)
Training course "Safeguarding children in sport in Cyprus" (16-17 September)
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