C.H.I.L.D.R.E.N - 8 pillars of safeguarding

In the last edition of The Boundary Line, we shared the ICC Guidance for Members – Safeguarding document, which provides National Cricket Federations assistance in creating safeguarding policies and procedures. However, sports organisations face numerous practical challenges when implementing a safeguarding program in their jurisdiction. In this edition of The Boundary Line, we dive into the learnings from a study of individuals conducted by International Safeguarding Children in Sport Founders Group, across 32 organisations over a period of 2 years. The learnings for the successful implementation of the Safeguards, can be summarized into eight key themes under the acronym ‘CHILDREN’**.

Cultural sensitivity

Holistic

Incentives

Leadership

Dynamic

Resources

Engagement

Networks

Cultural sensitivity: It is critical to understand the complexity arising from the interaction of different cultures at the national, community, sport, and organisational levels, to ensure there is flexibility to tailor safeguards to cultural and social norms.

Holistic: Safeguarding should be viewed as integrated into all aspects of an organisation and National Cricket Federations must ensure that safeguarding ideas and principles are embedded into the philosophy of the organisation, which threads into all areas of business.

Incentive: National Cricket Federations, in their planning need to identify reasons individuals and organisation(s) will work towards the Safeguards and ensure there is an incentive to initially encourage and then maintain engagement with the journey towards the Safeguards.

Leadership: Leaders can facilitate a proactive safety culture in an organisation by prioritising safeguarding and their actions regarding safeguarding issues. Senior management support within an organisation is critical towards building a robust safeguarding system.

Dynamic: Working towards the Safeguards should be viewed as a dynamic journey along which one never actually reaches the destination. Many key influencing factors (e.g., cultural/social norms, political landscape, different forms of abuse, increased understanding through research) will change over time, ensuring one must continually review policy and practice.

Resources: The implementation of the Safeguards needs to be supported by appropriate resources (e.g., human resources, financial resources, and time). Resourcing is a very real challenge for most organisations and it can play a significant role in facilitating or preventing work towards the Safeguards.

Engaging Stakeholders: The participants of the study indicated that creation and implementation of safeguarding policies and strategies should be done in consultation with the key stakeholders eg: players and coaches. This exercise facilitates a sense of ownership amongst these groups where Safeguards are created for the community, by that community, and implemented through the community.

Networks: Organisations can develop networks with other relevant support services within their community and with other National Cricket Federations while working through the Safeguards.

If your National Cricket Federation is starting or in the development stage of the safeguarding journey, the ICC Guidance for Members—Safeguarding document and the 8 pillars—CHILDREN are useful tools for creating a safe sporting environment and ensuring that the child athlete can flourish and reach their athletic potential through enjoyable experiences. Members can also contact the ICC for additional assistance and resources.