The landmark Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse gave sport its own section.In its final report in 2017,it said it had heard from 408 survivors and about 344 sport and recreation bodies across Australia. It noted that sports organisations sometimes were blinded by their missions.
“If sport and recreation institutions are driven by results and the pursuit of excellence,they may overlook potential harms in valuing coaches and instructors over the wellbeing of the child,” the report said.
The abuse of swimmers andfemalesoccer players graphically detailed in two media reports this week pre-date the royal commission. So do two earlier,damning reports this year on gross abuse ingymnastics andwomen’s hockey. Some are about children,some grown-ups,but they all stem from the same type of sport power structure.
Together,they may be the tail of a problem that you would hope is receding since the royal commission opened so many eyes and ears to atrocities.
But vigilance is one thing,reform is another. Sport must hearken to the experience of religious institutions,which were too dismissive of the need for genuine change,lost their standing,and won’t recover it any time soon.
“What breaks my heart,” said Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) chief David Sharpe at the release of the Human Rights Commission report into gymnastics in May,“is that we – Australia,and officials and administrators across the world,everyone – could allow children to be abused in sport,when sport is such a part of our culture.”