Sexualized Violence Toward Children and Adolescents: The Visibility and Implementation of Safeguarding Concepts in Sports, Music, and Church

Abstract

Sexualized Violence Toward Children and Adolescents: The Visibility and Implementation of Safeguarding Concepts in Sports, Music, and Church Abstract: Objective: In 2010, the disclosure of sexualized violence in educational organizations led to a public debate and calls for safeguarding concepts against sexualized violence toward children and adolescents. However, there have been few efforts to systematically record the visibility, availability, and implementation of such concepts. We used a broad Google search and a telephone survey as an initial approach to close this research gap. Method: In a systematic Google search and a telephone survey (N = 50), we identified and examined safeguarding concepts against sexualized violence toward children and adolescents in the context of religious organizations, sports, and musical education regarding its visibility, availability, and implementation level. Results: The results of our systematic internet research show a low hit rate of identified safeguarding concepts in all contexts. The low number of search hits indicates that the issue of sexualized violence toward children and adolescents has been inadequately addressed in many institutions, and that protective measures have been neglected. The supplementary results of the telephone survey suggest a low implementation level within organizations and a low availability of existing safeguarding concepts.