“At the DSV there seem to have been accomplices”: The former water jumper Jan Hempel had made allegations against his former coach Werner Langer (Swimming World Championships, Rome 1994)
A year and a half after your impulse paper, the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and the German Sports Youth have now fundamentally backed your idea of founding a national center for “Safe Sport”. Is this the decisive breakthrough?
Without or even against organized sport, this great future project could not be implemented. This fundamental vote by the DOSB and sports youth at the present time is also the conclusion of a longer process of understanding. Our position paper from February 2021 on the establishment of a center for “Safe Sport” resulted from our knowledge of the system deficits. At the time, numerous cases of abuse in sport became known, and the need for action was and is acute. Our initiative was then supported relatively quickly by politics, science and individual leading associations. At the beginning of this year, the federal government presented a feasibility study that clearly advocates the establishment of such a national center.
However, DOSB and sports youth want to curtail the center: It should only be switched on if the central associations cannot or do not want to act themselves in cases of sexualized or psychological violence …
It is clear that major reforms will be essential in this sensitive area. This could require a binding legal framework that defines rule violations and sets out powers such as sanctioning powers of a center. The associations would have to agree to this – with the practical consequence that competences and powers would be transferred to the center. It must be ensured that those affected can call the center at any time and have their cases independently examined, processed and sanctioned. This freedom of choice for those affected is absolutely important to us. In the interest of those affected, it is essential to avoid dead ends, in which cases in the sports system silt up or are ignored. In the current system, sometimes it is also a matter of chance whether the affected athletes come across the right people in their environment who are committed to their cause. That needs to change.
The latest revelations about conditions in the German Swimming Association (DSV) once again show how great the need for action is. Immediately after the allegations of abuse by former world-class water jumper Jan Hempel against his former trainer became known, other injured parties and victims came forward. Are the associations overwhelmed with the topic?
These revelations are a cry for independent, transparent investigation. None of this comes as a surprise to us, sad as it may sound. At the DSV there seem to have been accomplices, the association probably lacked the necessary will to clarify for a long time. Anyone who looks the other way and puts loyalties ahead of education is protecting perpetrators and institutions and is not acting in the interests of those affected. In addition, the people involved in associations are exposed to conflicts of interest or are unable to assert themselves against the association’s leadership. Sometimes they themselves only have limited options or are simply overwhelmed. We therefore propose that the center should automatically take on cases of a certain severity in future, but should at least be involved at an early stage if those affected wish it.
The first independent counseling center »Start against Violence«, which »Athleten Deutschland« launched a quarter of a year ago, is likely to be overwhelmed with the new onslaught?
In the meantime, several affected people report there every week – also because they have more trust in an independent advice center than in the system of their associations with all its dependencies and other deficits. The federal government also recognized this some time ago and wants to create a second independent contact point in parallel to our facility as soon as possible, which is open to those affected by sexualised violence and interpersonal violence in popular and competitive sports and at the same time to trainers and volunteers. The federal states want to support this from the second year with 150,000 euros per year if the federal government adds at least the same amount. That’s what the conference of sports ministers of the federal states decided on August 16th.
A national center for “safe sport” certainly cannot be equipped with this…
No, that should be his »germ cell«, so to speak, and a first building block. This is start-up financing to take some pressure off the boiler. A contact point is immensely important for those affected, but cannot remedy the existing system deficits. Sums in the lower six-digit range, which our own advice center also has available, will under no circumstances be sufficient for the large solution that is being sought. For the processing and thorough investigation of case complexes alone, five or six-digit amounts can quickly accumulate. This shows the financial dimensions involved in a center for “safe sport” equipped with all the necessary competencies. This will be a tour de force, in which hopefully the DOSB and the federal states will also participate.
How long will it be before your idea becomes reality?
The founding of the national center is anchored in the coalition agreement of the new government. This is a huge challenge, also because there are still many unanswered legal questions. My greatest wish is that this institution will be fully operational by the end of the current legislative period at the latest – i.e. in autumn 2025.
