One of the most effective ways to reduce the risk that your child or a teammate will be a victim of sexual harassment or abuse is to set boundaries at a pre-season meeting.
Boundary setting is important because it:
Example of physical boundaries include the following:
Examples of social boundaries could include the following:
Examples of sexual boundaries that might be include the following:
Many organizations go further. For example, the United States Olympic Committee Coaching Ethics Code provides that coaches should not be sexually intimate with a former athlete for at least two years after coach-athlete relationship ends, and, then, only in the most unusual circumstances, and only where the coach can demonstrate that there has been no exploitation, in light of all relevant factors, including:
After a scandal in a Chicago suburb involving allegations of sex between a coach and three underage athletes, USA Volleyball adopted a similar policy based on the one adopted by USOC.
Brooke de Lench is the Founding Executive Director of MomsTeam Institute of Youth Sports Safety, Inc. and the SmartTeams program initiative, author: Home Team Advantage: The Critical Role of Mothers in Youth Sports (Harper Collins) and Coalition Member: UNICEF International Safeguards of Children in Sports. de Lench writes and speaks often on the topic of Preventing Sexual Abuse in Sports.
Links:
[1] https://mail.momsteam.com/alpha/features/nutrition/precautions_to_avoid_heat_illness.shtml
[2] https://mail.momsteam.com/health-safety/ways-parents-can-help-prevent-sexual-harassment-and-abuse-in-youth-sports
[3] https://mail.momsteam.com/health-safety/treatment-reporting/handling-child-sexual-abuse-in-sports-advice-for-parents
[4] https://mail.momsteam.com/health-safety/sexual-abuse/girls/is-your-daughters-coach-a-sexual-predator
[5] https://mail.momsteam.com/team-of-experts/keith-wilson/preventing-sexual-abuse-in-youth-sports-background-checks
[6] https://mail.momsteam.com/health-safety/myths-about-abuse-in-sports-Celia-Brackenridge
[7] https://mail.momsteam.com/health-safety/preventing-sexual-abuse-at-summer-camp-five-tips-for-parents
[8] https://mail.momsteam.com/health-safety/sexual-abuse/prevention/preventing-sexual-abuse-in-sports-what-should-parents-say-to-their-child
[9] https://mail.momsteam.com/health-safety/sexual-abuse/prevention/preventing-sexual-abuse-protection-for-kids-in-youth-sports
[10] https://mail.momsteam.com/health-safety/sexual-abuse-of-boys-in-sports-does-the-sports-culture-itself-play-a-role