The new Premier League football season kicks off this week, with spent by top flight teams on new talent.
The start of this coming season marks the , and in a campaign first, it will get underway with a Friday night game 鈥� with Arsenal hosting Leicester at the Emirates.
This season will also see players competing for places in the squad, which will take place in Russia next summer. All in all, it鈥檚 set to be an exciting season, with , and hoping to make their mark in the league after promotion.
But despite all the new season anticipation, football continues to be plagued by allegations of historical child abuse. This comes after a number of former players waived their rights to anonymity and about childhood sexual abuse by former coaches in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
In response to these reports, a for footballers who experienced sexual abuse 鈥� and it received over 1,700 calls within three weeks of its launch.
Abuse widespread
To date, Operation Hydrant 鈥� the police inquiry into 鈥渘on recent鈥� child sexual abuse 鈥� has received hundreds of reports of historic child sex abuse within football, with , spanning all tiers of the game, currently involved in the inquiry.
recently by the operation show that the number of victims now stands at 741, with more than 270 suspects identified. Of those victims, 96% are male, and were aged between four and 20 years old when the alleged abuse took place.
While the vast majority of referrals relate to football, a number of in the inquiry, including basketball, rugby, gymnastics, martial arts, tennis, wrestling, golf, sailing, athletics, cricket, and swimming.
Since November last year, when the issue of child sexual abuse in football first gained public attention, cases have progressed through the legal system. This has led to the identification of and the successful charge of indecent assault and sex offences.
It has also been revealed that some of the identified coaches held positions at . Yet despite the ongoing public outcry, the football authorities have been criticised for their . At the end of last season, eight professional clubs, had failed to respond to the national independent inquiry and were in jeopardy of (Football Association).
Macho culture
Much of the shock and outrage at the abuse allegations and convictions comes from the fact that the victims are men. Stereotypically, child sexual abuse in sport has been seen as being about male perpetrators and female victims. But the recent cases have shattered this myth, revealing that boys and men experience sexual abuse, too.
Undoubtedly, this stereotype acted as an obstacle for about sexual abuse, because of the misconception that 鈥渞eal鈥� sports boys and sportsmen are not 鈥渧ictims鈥� of sex crimes.
This is hardly surprising, because since the early 1990s, has exposed the often damaging connections between masculinity and sport. Football locker rooms and clubs are traditionally very masculine and male environments, and has shown that expectations of how male sports stars should and should not behave can demean, devalue and devastate the lives of individual athletes.
Position of trust
Paralympic athlete and crossbench peer Baroness Grey-Johnson has recently . She has recommended sports coaches be included as a 鈥減osition of trust鈥� within the 鈥� which would prohibit a coach from having sex with someone who cannot consent. This is primarily used for the protection of young people who are above the age of consent but under the age of 18.
This builds on the work by professor Celia Brackenridge on understanding and preventing sexual exploitation in sport. Back in 2001, her groundbreaking exposed the extent and nature of abuse across many sports, and revealed the previously taboo subject of athlete abuse 鈥� including .
Brackenridge crucially offered practical guidance for athletes, coaches, clubs and governing bodies, and many sports organisations took her seriously and adopted .
However, it was revealed last year that despite these guidelines being adopted by many clubs, in 2003, the FA made the decision to meant to ensure children were safe from sexual abuse. The that an evaluation of the project later suggested that some FA staff felt intimidated and unable to speak out.
Despite this environment of diminishing child protection and macho culture, male footballers did come forward 鈥� to speak out about the sexual abuse they experienced as children.
So as the Premier League鈥檚 25th season kicks off, and the national inquiry into historical abuse in football continues, work must go on to ensure justice is served. It is by tackling abusive behaviour swiftly and publicly, that the sporting world can help to safeguard against future abuse of boys and young men in football.
, Associate Professor Leisure Cultures, ; , Associate Professor in Sport and Leisure Studies, ; , Senior Lecturer in Sport, Health and Social Sciences, , and , Reader in Sport and Leisure and Studies,
This article was originally published on . Read the .
