The safeguarding of children and young people participating in sport has become an increasingly prominent concern in policy-making and research communities around the world. Major organisations such as the IOC and UNICEF now officially recognize that children in sport can be at risk of exploitation and abuse, and this concern has led to the emergence of new initiatives and policies aimed at protecting vulnerable young people and athletes. This book is the first to comprehensively review contemporary developments in child protection and safeguarding in sport on a global level.

This book is about the sexual abuse of children and young people in sports contexts. It documents and evaluates this important issue through a critical investigation of the research, policy and practice which has emerged within sport over the past two decades. It also provides a new theoretical framework through which child sexual abuse in sport may be understood and further explored. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including survivor accounts, sport agencies records and wider media, this book is important reading for any researcher, policy-maker or practitioner working in youth sport,...