National Child Protection Week: Education is key
Education and awareness remain a key focus for Sport Integrity Australia this National Child Protection Week.
Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) continues to promote child safety within sport by encouraging parents, carers and sporting organisations to discuss how to create a child safe environment.
Across the agency, SIA has specialist teams that work alongside sports to promote and support safe and fair environments, including child safeguarding and education.
Last financial year, our education team delivered 190 face-to-face education sessions to more than 9,000 athletes, coaches and sporting organisations on topics from anti-doping, threats facing sport and child safeguarding practices.
SIA Acting CEO Dr Sarah Benson said education is key in protecting children and young people from harm in any environment.
“At SIA we believe child safety must be embedded in every Australian sporting organisation’s culture and understood, and practised at all levels of the sport,” said Dr Benson.
“Keeping children and young people safe in sport is everybody's responsibility and those working in sport need to know how to embed safeguarding."
In addition to education, our Child Safeguarding team has been working hard with sporting organisations to build a better understanding of how child safe practices create safe and positive sporting environments for children and young people.
Since it was launched in June 2023, the SIA-led Safeguarding in Sport Continuous Improvement Program has had 24 sporting organisations commit to improving their safeguarding practices and processes.
For parents and carers of children who participate in sport there are numerous questions they can ask their local clubs about what safeguarding measures have been put in place to keep their children safe.
Play by the Rules Co-chair Dr Paul Oliver said we have developed a range of resources as part of the Start to Talk campaign by Play by the Rules.
“These child safe resources support everyone involved in sport on how to ensure child protection measures are at the forefront of their organisation,” said Dr Oliver.
In line with the theme of National Child Protection Week – every conversation matters, we also encourage parents and carers to talk about safety with their children.
“Make plans about what to do if they feel unsafe. Ensure your child knows who they can talk to if they don’t feel safe in their sport.”
Resources are available at: sportintegrity.gov.au/childsafe
