RISE Empowered Above Sexual Violence in Sports

🛡️ If something feels wrong in sport, would you know what to do next?

The new RISE Booklet – Step-by-Step Guidelines: What to Do If You Experience Sexual Violence in Sports offers clear and practical guidance on recognising warning signs, taking action, finding support and knowing your rights as an athlete.

Because everyone deserves to feel safe, respected and heard in sport.

Developed within RISE – Empowered Above Sexual Violence in Sports, co-funded by the European Union.

📘 Download the Booklet and find more information:
https://rise-project.org/protocols-policies-guides/

🛡️ A safe sport environment is about more than preventing harm. It is about valuing athletes as people.

The RISE Handbook: How to Create a Safe and Healthy Environment Which Values Athletes as Human Beings provides practical guidance for sports organisations, coaches and other stakeholders on building environments based on safety, respect, dignity and athlete well-being.

Developed within RISE – Empowered Above Sexual Violence in Sports, co-funded by the European Union.

📘 Explore the Handbook and find more information: https://rise-project.org/protocols-policies-guides/

🛡️ Safe sport starts with clear boundaries.

What behaviour is acceptable in sport - and what is not? And who is responsible for creating a safe environment?

The RISE Guide: Standards of Conduct and Codes of Behaviour within Sport Contexts offers practical guidance for athletes, coaches, parents, volunteers and sports organisations, including ready-to-use sample Codes of Conduct.

Developed within RISE - Empowered Above Sexual Violence in Sports, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

📘 Download the Guide and find more information: https://rise-project.org/protocols-policies-guides/

🛡️ What should you do when sexual violence happens in sport?

Who should you tell? How should you react? How can you support the person affected? And what should a sports organisation have in place before something happens?

The new RISE Protocol: Identification, Reporting and Support to Victims of Sexual Violence in Sports gives practical guidance for dealing with these difficult situations.

It looks at how to recognise possible signs of abuse, report concerns safely, protect the person affected and make sure they receive the support they need.

The Protocol was developed within RISE - Empowered Above Sexual Violence in Sports, a project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, working to make sport a safer environment for everyone.

📖 Download the Protocol and find out more:
https://rise-project.org/protocols-policies-guides/

New RISE Resources Now Available in 6 Languages!

Protocol • Guide • Handbook • Booklet

The RISE project is pleased to announce that its key protocols, guides, and practical resources including a handbook and a booklet, addressing the prevention of and response to sexual violence in sports are now available online in six languages.

Developed within the framework of the RISE project, these resources aim to support athletes, sports professionals, organisations and other relevant stakeholders in strengthening safeguarding practices, recognising and responding to sexual violence, and promoting safer, healthier and more supportive sports environments.

The resources are available in English, Greek, German, Italian, Spanish and Bulgarian and can be freely accessed through the RISE website.

Explore the RISE Protocols, Policies and Guides https://rise-project.org/protocols-policies-guides/

For many athletes, it starts before adulthood.

🚨 59.7% of athletes who experienced contact sexual violence said the first incident happened before they turned 18.

Even more concerning, 31.6% experienced it before the age of 13.

These findings underline why safeguarding cannot begin only when something goes wrong. Safe environments, clear boundaries, awareness and trusted reporting mechanisms need to be part of sport from the very beginning.

RISE (Rise Empowered Above Sexual Violence in Sports) is an Erasmus+ Sport project bringing together partners from six European countries to prevent sexual violence in sport through research, education and practical safeguarding tools.

The findings come from the RISE international research on the prevalence of sexual violence in sport, examining athletes' experiences across the participating European countries.

📖 Explore the research and its findings:
https://rise-project.org/research-studies/

Sexual violence in sport doesn't always involve physical contact.

📊 69.3% of athletes reported experiencing at least one form of non-contact sexual violence in sport.

Sexual violence is not limited to physical abuse. It can include unwanted sexual comments, jokes, gestures, messages or conversations that create an intimidating, humiliating or unsafe sporting environment.

RISE (Rise Empowered Above Sexual Violence in Sports) is an Erasmus+ Sport project that brings together partners from six European countries to prevent sexual violence in sport through research, education and practical safeguarding tools.

This finding comes from the RISE international research on the prevalence of sexual violence in sport, conducted across six European countries to better understand the scale of the problem and support the development of safer sporting environments.

📖 Read the full research here:
https://rise-project.org/research-studies/

🛡️ Protecting children starts with all of us.

Creating a safe environment for young people means more than reacting when something goes wrong - it means recognising the signs, having open conversations and knowing how to respond.

Here are 3 simple but powerful steps every parent, coach, teacher and youth worker should remember:

💙 KNOW
Teach children about their bodies, personal boundaries and the importance of speaking up. Help them understand that they always have the right to say "no", leave an uncomfortable situation and tell a trusted adult if someone violates their privacy.

👀 SEE
Stay alert to warning signs such as sudden changes in behaviour, fear of certain people, withdrawal, age-inappropriate sexual knowledge or unexplained injuries. Also pay attention to adults who repeatedly cross boundaries through excessive gifts, favouritism or inappropriate private communication.

🤝 RESPOND
If a child shares something concerning:
✔ Stay calm.
✔ Listen without judgment.
✔ Reassure them they did the right thing by telling you.
✔ Report suspected abuse through the appropriate safeguarding procedures or to the relevant authorities.

Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, supportive environment. Awareness, trust and timely action can make all the difference.

📖 Read more:
https://www.daytonymca.org/child-sexual-abuse-prevention/know-see-respond

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