Athletes, parents, coaches, and organizational staff across all sports commonly ask #WeRideTogether, “What do I do if misconduct or abuse has been brought to my attention?”
Since #WeRideTogether is dedicated to eliminating abuse and misconduct in sports, supporting organizations with their safeguarding efforts is essential to our mission.
For some organizations and their community members, clear policies and procedures may be in place to help responders and reporters navigate this question. For others, safeguarding scaffolding may be absent or unclear. Organizations across the globe, from the grassroots to the elite level, are all at different places in their safeguarding journey. And, individuals vary in their comfort level and skills in handling tough conversations and situations around misconduct and abuse that may arise in sports.
To answer this question and level the playing field, we have created the Response & Reporting Guide that can be utilized among all organizations. The guide outlines best practices for individuals responding, reporting, and following up and provides guidance for organizations to strengthen their safeguarding initiatives.
The term safeguarding applies to actions taken to ensure participants are protected from harm. The goal of safeguarding is to proactively create safe and healthy sporting environments. This goal is achieved by providing clarity and standardizing expectations on preventative best practices and healthy relationship dynamics.
One tenet of safeguarding athletes is for organizations to have clear policies and procedures regarding responding to disclosures and reporting abuse and misconduct.
#WeRideTogether encourages you to download, save, and distribute this guide to your community members to help empower everyone to best navigate responding and reporting abuse and misconduct.
If your organization is in need of support in creating or bolstering your safeguarding assets or initiatives, #WeRideTogether is here to help with our pro bono safeguarding consultation services!
Reach out to us at info@weridetogether.today to learn more.
If you or someone you know needs immediate assistance, please visit our crisis resources.
Kathryn McClain, MSW, MBA
Program and Partnerships Director at #WeRideTogether
