SAFEGUARDING
POLICY
April 2024

www.worldathletics.org

World Athletics Safeguarding Policy2

Contents
1.

Foreword .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  6

2.

Introduction .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  8

3.

Scope .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  8

4.

What is safeguarding? .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  8

5.

Principles .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  8

6.

Purpose .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  8

7.

World Athletics Safeguarding Rules  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 98.

Implementation  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  9
World Athletics . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 9Area Associations and Member Federations  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 109.

Reporting Procedures .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  11

10. Review .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 11
Appendix  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 14
Definitions . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 14

For more information
please contact Karena.Vleck@worldathletics.org
and Annie.DAVIS@worldathletics.org

www.worldathletics.org

3World Athletics Safeguarding Policy

4

www.worldathletics.org

5

1.

Foreword

The first World Athletics Safeguarding Policy
was published in October 2021 and has beenreviewed by the Safeguarding Task Force andCouncil twice. This, the third edition of our
Safeguarding Policy sets out the commitment
of World Athletics to protect everyone in our
sport from abuse, harassment and exploitationand promote safe and positive environments forathletes, coaches, officials, staff and volunteers.

The World Athletics Championships Budapest
2023 saw both World Athletics and the Budapest
23 Organising Committee appoint safeguarding
officers to work together and with the designatedsafeguarding officers of all national teams to provide
support and guidance to all athletes and team officials.
There is a lot more to do but I am grateful that ourAreas and Member Federations are committed
to and embarking on a safeguarding journey andto our Safeguarding Task Force for all their hard
work in driving this important work forwards.

Member Federations and Area Associations haveagreed to introduce safeguarding policies andprocedures - a shared and high priority responsibility
that we all take seriously. We now have tailoredmaterials available for Area Associations, as well as
for Member Federations, to assist them with thedevelopment and implementation of their safeguarding
policies and procedures. Clear, well-publicised policies
will give our athletes at every level the confidence
and trust they need to report abuse knowing thatthey will be listened to and action will be taken.

Sebastian Coe
President, World Athletics

The goal of increased and sustained participation inathletics will only be achieved by taking safeguarding
seriously, prioritising it within our organisations
and embedding it in our working practices. Withoutsafeguarding woven into every aspect of oursport we risk losing athletes, officials and otherparticipants, and will struggle to attract new ones.

World Athletics Safeguarding Policy

6

www.worldathletics.org

7

2.

Introduction

4.

What is safeguarding?

World Athletics is responsible for growing the
sport of athletics, creating inspiring, appealing andaccessible competitions and leading by example.
World Athletics believes that everyone in athletics
should be treated with respect and dignity, and beprotected from abuse, harassment and exploitation. To
help achieve this goal, World Athletics is committed
to ensuring that persons in positions of authority
and influence in athletics adopt practices aimed ateliminating abuse, harassment and exploitation.

Safeguarding is about proactively putting in placemeasures to protect vulnerable persons, children
and adults from abuse, harassment and exploitation.
Creating a safe and welcoming sport environment,
where everyone is respected and valued, is at theheart of safeguarding. Everyone involved with athletics
has a role to play in making sure they actively prevent
abuse, harassment or exploitation, listen to accounts
from children and adults of their experiences andrespond safely and fully if there is a problem.

World Athletics takes its responsibilities for creating
safe and positive environments for all in, and involved

5.

with, the athletics community seriously. To this end, it
has developed this Safeguarding Policy (“the Policy”)
to help stakeholders guard against abuse, harassmentand exploitation and to take action if it occurs. This
Policy outlines the scope, objectives, guiding principles
as well as the implementation framework underpinningWorld Athletics’ approach to safeguarding.

3.

•

•

Scope
•

This Policy applies to World Athletics, its Area
Associations, Member Federations, athletes, staff andany other person associated with World Athletics.
Each Area Association and Member Federation isrequired to comply with this Policy and World Athletics
Rules related to safeguarding in athletics and to
take all steps required by World Athletics to ensurethat everyone involved in athletics is protected fromabuse, harassment and exploitation. Area Associations
and Member Federations must also comply with
their own safeguarding policies and procedures.

•

6.

Principles
Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity
and respect and to be free from discrimination
whether it is based on sex, race, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, ability, sexual
orientation, beliefs, religious or political affiliation.
Everyone has the right to participate, enjoy anddevelop personally through athletics in a safe,
inclusive environment free from all forms of abuse,harassment or exploitation.
Everyone has the right to have their voices heard
particularly if raising a concern about their own oranother person’s welfare. Everyone should know
who to ask for help when they have a concern
about an individual’s behaviour.
Everyone is responsible for the care and protectionof children, making decisions in their best interests
as their welfare is paramount.

PurposeWorld Athletics is committed to safeguarding
everyone involved in athletics from abuse, harassmentand exploitation as well as upholding the principles
set out above. In creating safe and positiveenvironments everyone is able to enjoy, compete
or work in the sport with the confidence that World
Athletics is taking its duty of care seriously.

World Athletics Safeguarding Policy

8This Policy is designed to ensure everyone
understands their responsibilities within thesafeguarding landscape. In brief these are:
•
•

•
•
•
•
•
•

investigations of safeguarding concerns involving
World Athletics Officials or persons participatingin or accredited at World Athletics Events, theOlympic Games or a Congress must be dealt
with in accordance with the procedures set out
in the World Athletics Safeguarding Rules.

Implementing and embedding this Policy within
their areas of responsibility
Raising awareness of the nature of abuse,harassment and exploitation that can occur in theathletics community
Developing and delivering safeguarding educationand training for those involved in athletics
Supporting victims of abuse, harassment andexploitation
Vetting and recruitment of staff and volunteers inline with acceptable ethical practices

8.

The successful implementation of this Policy depends
on the mutual cooperation, partnership, solidarity
and networking among the various stakeholders.
World Athletics, Area Associations and Member

Reporting concerns expeditiously
Responding appropriately when concerns are raised
Establishing partnerships with organisations andinstitutions engaged in the prevention of abuse,harassment and exploitation within and beyond
athletics.

Federations will work together to implement this Policy;
this is everyone’s responsibility. It is important to raiseawareness of the subject across the sport througheducation and training. By raising awareness everyone
will be able to recognise and respond appropriately
to concerns of abuse, harassment and exploitationthat they may witness or have reported to them. They
will also be able to consider the appropriatenessof their own behaviour and make changes whereindicated. It is also important to recruit carefully
providing new staff and volunteers with induction
and orientation programmes where appropriate.

This Policy describes the procedures to be followedin the event abuse, harassment, or exploitation
occurs. Everyone should know to whom they
can turn for help when they need to report a
concern about a person associated with athletics,
whether the actions in question are experienced
personally, witnessed directly, known throughreports from others, or reflect one’s own conduct.

7.

Implementation

The following explains how this Policy will
be implemented and embedded in athletics
organisations operating at the global,
Area and Member Federation level:

World Athletics Safeguarding
Rules

WORLD ATHLETICS• World Athletics promotes best practicethroughout the athletics community and provides
a Safeguarding Starter Pack and Guidance to help
Member Federations implement this Policy.
• World Athletics promotes best practice andprovides Guidance for Area Associations enablingthem to develop and implement their own
safeguarding policies aligned with this Policy.
• World Athletics improves and develops its
workforce (whether volunteers or employees) toWorld Athletics Safeguarding Rules give World
Athletics the specific authority to make orders
imposing limitations and/or restrictions on individuals
if there is reason to believe they pose a risk toothers. World Athletics Safeguarding Rules deal withany concern, incident, suspicion, action, behaviour
or failure to act in a way which has caused, causes
or may cause abuse, harassment or exploitation
falling within the scope of the Rules. Reports andwww.worldathletics.org

9

•

•

help the growth of the sport through the sharingof knowledge and skills. World Athletics provides
appropriate safeguarding training, both online andface-to-face, for a wide range of audiences and inmany languages. Training courses are accessible
via the World Athletics e-learning platform andcombined with other training courses provided on
the platform.
Training for elite athletes is being developed andwill be promoted and delivered through different
channels.
World Athletics, Area Associations and Member
Federations promote physical and mental healthand wellbeing of all those associated with athletics.
This includes taking steps to protect athletes from•unsafe, excessive or unwelcome training regimes,
and measures to prevent human trafficking,financial abuse or manipulation of an athlete’s age,nationality or competitive results.
World Athletics monitors and evaluates theimplementation and effectiveness of this Policyby assessing how thoroughly World Athletics
itself, Area Associations and Member Federations
address safeguarding in their respective territories.
One important evaluation criterion is whether or
not Area Associations and Member Federations
implement the guidance provided by World
Athletics.
World Athletics may consider sanctions, funding
conditions or other measures to incentivise andensure compliance by Area Associations andMember Federations with this Safeguarding Policy.

•

AREA ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERFEDERATIONS• Member Federations must adopt and implementa safeguarding policy and procedures which
follow local legislation and the World Athletics
Safeguarding Policy by December 2023. The
procedures must describe the steps to be followed
when a concern is reported, including investigativeand disciplinary processes. There should also be aclear and fair process for administering consistentand proportionate sanctions where warranted.

•

•

•

Fair process must include notice and the right/
opportunity to be heard before any sanction is
imposed. Member Federations must inform therelevant public authorities where this is required bylegislation and should work alongside local agencies
and services to ensure that concerns are dealt within line with local laws and regulations.
World Athletics may impose sanctions, funding
conditions or other measures on those Member
Federations who missed the December 2023
timeline for adopting a safeguarding policy andprocedures and therefore any such Member
Federation is strongly encouraged to develop theseproducts on an urgent basis, and to reach out toWorld Athletics if they require advice or assistance.
Area Associations must adopt and implementa safeguarding policy which complies with thisPolicy by the end of December 2024. They should
facilitate and encourage Member Federations intheir Area to fulfil their obligation to adopt andimplement a safeguarding policy. Area Associations
must also have procedures in place by the end of
December 2024 to be followed when a concern
is reported to the Area Association. This may
mean that the concern is dealt with by the Area
Association if they have jurisdiction to do so or that
it is referred to the relevant Member Federation.
Area Associations must inform the relevant publicauthorities, when required to do so by legislation in
the applicable country and will work alongside local
agencies and services to ensure that concerns aredealt with in line with any relevant local laws andregulations.
Area Associations and Member Federations should
ensure that individuals recruited as part of theirworkforce (whether volunteers or employees)
meet the safeguarding criteria established by any
local legislation and any safeguarding policies andrequirements set by public authorities which apply
to them. They should also follow World Athletics
safeguarding recruitment guidance contained in the
Guide to Safeguarding. There is also information
about recruitment in the Safeguarding Essentials
Training course which is available here. The

World Athletics Safeguarding Policy

10

•

•

•

•

9.

workforce must be regularly trained in safeguarding
to ensure capacity to provide support and advice
to their athletics communities and anyone who
raises a safeguarding concern. Area Associations
and Member Federations must ensure that
their workforces (volunteers or employees alike)undertake any mandatory training or educationprescribed by World Athletics.
Area Associations and Member Federations should
assess risks and put into place measures to reduce
identified risks. Training should be provided tostaff and volunteers to help them understand andidentify the additional risks some individuals are
exposed to due to their race, sex, age, religion,
disability, sexual orientation, social background orThis is an area that varies widely across different
countries and is usually addressed by national or
local legislation or procedures and should be included
in a Member Federation’s safeguarding policy.
If the concern is one that requires the involvementof law enforcement agencies, because of thenature of the incident or because it may be a
criminal offence, then it is essential that they
are made aware of the matter as a priority.
If at any point anyone has a concern about
an individual who requires medical support(for physical or psychological injury) thisshould be sought in the first instance.

culture.
Member Federations should consult with children,
athletes and other stakeholders about safeguarding
policies to ensure their voices are heard and tobuild confidence in the value and strength ofsafeguarding policies and procedures. Engagement
will help build commitment to safeguarding in thewider athletics community.
Area Associations and Member Federations must
deal with all allegations and concerns in a timely,
confidential, sensitive and discreet manner and inaccordance with the relevant procedures.
Athletics bodies/organisations should not disclose
personal information without prior consent andshould do so only when necessary to protect anindividual from harm, or where it is required by law.

World Athletics or the Athletics Integrity Unit may
request information from a Member Federation or
an Area Association in relation to a particular caseor generally. This may be to establish whether the
Athletics Integrity Unit should take action under
the Safeguarding Rules, because a matter has beenreferred to an Area Association or Member Federationby the Athletics Integrity Unit to investigate anddeal with, or for any other reasonable grounds.
Area Associations and Member Federations mustcomply promptly with any such request fromWorld Athletics or the Athletics Integrity Unit.

10. Review
This Policy will be reviewed regularly by the Councilof World Athletics and at least once every two years.

Reporting Procedures

If an individual is at immediate risk of harm there should
be no delay in reporting the matter to emergency
services. There are occasions when the consent of
the individual to report a matter should be sought,
taking into account their age and mental capacity.
The capacity for consent may vary based on the ageof a child along with other factors and may also differ
between a child and an adult. If an individual refuses togive consent the matter may still need to be reported.

The individual responsible for safeguarding
at World Athletics is Karena Vleck or her duly
authorised deputy; she may be contacted
through safeguarding@worldathletics.org.

www.worldathletics.org

11World Athletics Safeguarding Policy

12www.worldathletics.org

13

Appendix

behave in sexually inappropriate ways or grooming aperson in preparation for abuse. It can be perpetrated
by both men and women and is often where one
party is in a position of power over the other.

DEFINITIONSChild - a “child” or “children” refers to anindividual or group of individuals who have
not yet reached the age of 18 years old.

Psychological abuse is an unwelcome act including
vilification, belittling, rejection, confinement, isolation,verbal assault, humiliation, intimidation, infantilisationor any other behaviour which may diminish an

Grooming is the process (online or in person) whereby
an individual builds a relationship with an athlete
encouraging them to trust them so that the groomer
can manipulate and exploit them for their own
advantage. Grooming an athlete’s family, entourage andfriends often leads those individuals to believe that thegroomer is dependable and trustworthy enabling thegroomer to have access to the athlete. By manipulating
the athlete and exploiting the relationship they will
make the athlete believe they have to comply withindividual’s sense of identity, dignity or self-worth.
This is at the centre of most types of abuse as whenthese occur, so does psychological abuse. This canoften also be seen as bullying or cyber-bullying..

the groomer’s demands. The power a groomer has
over the athlete is used to isolate them from friends
and family who might otherwise warn or caution
them from complying with the groomer’s demands.

Physical abuse is any intentional or unwanted act
for example kicking, beating, biting or burning whichcauses injury or physical harm. It can include theforced consumption of alcohol or systematic doping
practices. It can also be any forced or inappropriate
physical activity such as training which is unsuitable
for the age of physique of the athlete. Forced orexcessive training may escape notice in a sporting
environment as the ambitions of both athletes andcoaches, as well as peer pressure, may induce one orboth to impose or take on excessive training loads
and/or competition commitments. Dialogue among
athletes and coaches aimed at setting mutuallyagreed and achievable performance goals can help
define tolerable and acceptable training demands.
It is up to coaches to temper ambitions that may
run counter to an athlete’s health and wellbeing.

Harassment is any unwanted or unwelcome
behaviour which offends or makes the person feel
humiliated or intimidated. Power harassment iswhere someone in a position of power over anotherindividual, usually in a workplace, uses that power
to physically or psychologically harass anotherperson in a lower position. Power harassment can
include exclusion, inappropriate work assignments(too little, too much or of a lower level that
acceptable) as well as intrusive behaviour.

Abuse, harassment and exploitation
are described below:

Sexual harassment is any unwanted or unwelcome
conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal
or physical. Examples include unwanted or degrading
intimate questions relating to body, clothes or one’s
private life, jokes with a sexual innuendo and proposals
or demands for non-consensual sexual acts. Thesemay be unwanted text messages, telephone calls,
letters or other form of communication with sexual
content. They may also include staring, gesticulation,or sharing photographs or pictures with sexual
allusions. Examples of physical sexual harassment are
unnecessary physical contact with a sexual nature suchas pinching, attempting to kiss or caress or touching.

Sexual abuse is any conduct of a sexual nature,
either contact (penetrative or non-penetrative) or
non-contact, where consent is not given, cannot begiven, is coerced or manipulated. This can involve
individuals looking at or making sexual images,
watching sexual activities, encouraging others toWorld Athletics Safeguarding Policy

14

Exploitation is when someone exercises control overanother person and/or their assets for their own“personal gain” and without the fully informed consent
of the person. Personal gain may be psychological,
reputational or commercial and constitutes exploitation
when the rights of a person are sold or negotiatedwithout express and fully informed consent of theother person. Examples in athletics may be fraudulent
misrepresentation of an athlete’s age or nationality,
acting on behalf of an athlete fraudulently or taking an
unreasonable share of the proceeds of sponsorshipor funding arrangements. Exploitation comes in manydifferent guises. Examples include sexual exploitation,
financial exploitation and signing up athletes tolong term contracts while they are still children.

not necessarily of financial benefit to themselves. Anyelement of coercion may be abuse, harassment or
exploitation if the individual is a child or if the individual
has not authorised someone to act on their behalf
or if they have not been adequately advised by anindependent professional such as an accountant or
lawyer on the impact of the terms of the agreement.
There may be times when actions which might
not be abusive to one person may be abusive or
harmful due to the vulnerability of the individual
who is being abused. This may be due to thepersons age, ability or other form of vulnerability.
Abuse, harassment and exploitation often result
from an abuse of authority by someone in a positionof trust, meaning the improper use of power bysomeone in a position of influence, power orauthority by an individual against another person.

Neglect is the failure to provide a minimum level ofcare either physical or emotional which causes harm,allowing harm to be caused or creating an imminent
danger of harm. This usually relates to the care given byparents or caregivers to children but is also relevant toother people who have a duty of care towards anotherperson such as a coach or team leaders towards anathlete. This can include the failure to provide adequate
water in high temperatures, adequate clothing incold temperatures or failing to provide suitable
food, accommodation or safe travel arrangements.

World Athletics does not condone any form ofabuse, harassment or exploitation but understands
that those involved in athletics will need to focus on
pro-active measures directed to deterring the more
severe forms of abuse, harassment or exploitation.

Abuse, harassment and exploitation may be based on
race, religion, colour, beliefs, ethnic origin, sex, gender,
sexual orientation, age, disability, socio-economic
status and athletic ability or a combination of anyof these characteristics. It can be a single isolated
incident or a series of events, in person or online,
deliberate, unsolicited or coercive. Bullying, hazing,
negligence or homophobia are all other aspectsof abuse or harassment and should be treated in
the same way under the terms of this Policy.
Any of these forms of abuse, harassment andexploitation may include an aspect of financial
abuse. It may be that an individual may be coercedor unwittingly induced into signing contracts oragreements which benefit others financially but are

www.worldathletics.org

15

www.worldathletics.org@WorldAthletics©World Athletics 2024.
All Rights Reserved.

6-8, Quai Antoine 1er, BP 359
MC 98007
Monaco Cedex