In the meantime, more and more victims of abuse of power are breaking their silence in professional and popular sports. But there is a need for action to better protect athletes before abuse occurs.
Special structures in sport encourage attacks. Apparently minor cases are used by perpetrators to test boundaries before serious abuse actually occurs, says Johannes Knuth. There is a strong power imbalance between perpetrators and victims. The editor of the SZ sports department supports the establishment of an independent contact point for those affected as well as a register of trainers so that perpetrators cannot move from club to club undetected.
For further reading:
You can read a text by Johannes Knuth about the inadequate support for victims in German sport here.
Here you can read Knuth’s text about the struggle for an independent center for “Safe Sport”.
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