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Responsible Coaching Movement
Coaches have many responsibilities and one of them is to ensure they provide a safe environment for their athletes and themselves. When athletes and athletes’ parents entrust a coach as a leader they assume they have taken steps to become a responsible coach.
The Responsible Coaching Movement (RCM) is a call to action for sport organizations to implement policies and processes to ensure athletes are safe. Coordinated by the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, it highlights three key areas:
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Rule of Two
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Background Screening
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Respect and Ethics Training
These concepts are preventative tools to protect the organization, the coach and to reduce the instances of negative sport experiences related to bullying, abuse, unethical coaching, etc.
Parents have the right to speak with the coach or the coach's supervisor if they have questions or concerns about interactions with their child.
Watch this short video for some advice about what questions to ask your child’s club or program.
All sport organizations (national, provincial and local) are encouraged to take the RCM Pledge to show their commitment to championing these positive changes!
The first phase of the RCM is initially focused on educating organizations on child sexual abuse in sport as a partnership has been developed with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.
It has been estimated that 10% of all children are victims of sexual abuse and children with disabilities are four times more likely to be affected.
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection estimates:
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98% of sport environment offenders were coaches, teachers or instructors.
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Elite young athletes are more likely to be sexually assaulted than lower-level counterparts.
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Sexual offenses are one of the most under-reported offenses in Canada.
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Only 30% of child victims disclose during childhood, while the other 70% may disclose in adulthood, or not at all.
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BCWA is working with our Partners to provide our member clubs and coaches with tools for prevention and protection of youth in sport.
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