Safeguarding, Beyond a Policy - Part 2

If your organisation has never received a safeguarding concern, it can feel reassuring. After all, no reports must mean nothing is happening, right? Unfortunately, this assumption can be one of the greatest risks and a barrier to proper safeguarding within a sports setting.

The absence of safeguarding reports does not mean harm is not occurring. More often, it means people do not feel safe, confident, or supported enough to speak up. Silence is not a measure of success in safeguarding. It is instead, a warning sign that systems, culture, or trust are not yet fully in place.

Ignoring safeguarding, minimising its importance, or treating it as someone else’s responsibility allows harmful behaviours to go unnoticed and unchallenged. In doing so, organisations can unintentionally perpetuate a culture where individuals feel unseen, unsupported, and unsafe. Safeguarding is not something you can opt out of; it exists whether you engage with it or not.

Conversely, organisations that do receive safeguarding reports are not failing to maintain a safe environment. Reports demonstrate that people feel empowered to speak up against abuse and trust that they will be listened to, taken seriously, and supported. A healthy safeguarding culture is one where concerns are raised early, addressed appropriately, and learned from, not hidden away and ignored.

One of the biggest barriers to effective safeguarding, particularly in sport, is fear. Safeguarding is often seen as restrictive, a list of rules about what you cannot do, a threat to participation, or an obstacle to participants enjoying sport. There can be a perception that making reports is inherently negative or that safeguarding only exists to catch people out. But this is not the case at all. Safeguarding is not a barrier to sport; it is a gateway to safe sport. It allows for positive experiences, protects participants and staff, and creates environments where everyone can thrive. Safeguarding is not about stopping sports activities; it is about responding quickly and appropriately when something goes wrong and reducing the likelihood of harm occurring in the first place.

Another challenge for coaches and volunteers is that safeguarding concerns raised to them may have nothing to do with their sport or organisation. A coach, official, or volunteer might simply be the safest adult someone knows. A concern about school, work, or home life may be disclosed to them not because of their sporting role, but because of their trustworthiness. This can feel daunting, but it reinforces the importance of training, clear procedures, and supportive safeguarding leads who can guide people through the next steps to protect those at risk and those who have suffered harm.

Strong safeguarding is ultimately about culture. It is about normalising conversations, challenging harmful attitudes, and making it clear that everyone has a role to play. An organisation with no reports should not believe that those within their sport or organisation face no safeguarding concerns. They should address their culture and ask: would people tell us if something was wrong?

Safeguarding is not the enemy of sport, youth work, or community activity. It is the foundation on which safe, inclusive, and positive spaces are built. When people feel safe enough to speak up and empowered to report abuse everyone benefits.