Sexual harassment and abuse have no place in our society or in sport. The safety and well-being of athletes must always come first.
The BOIC makes the fight against inappropriate behavior a key priority. To protect athletes and delegation members, it has taken the following measures:
- The code of conduct for delegation members (including athletes) contains specific provisions on inappropriate behavior. Each delegation has two designated confidants (one male and one female) who can be approached. The international contact person is also mentioned.
- For competitions and multidisciplinary training camps under the authority of the BOIC, coaches, support staff, and personnel must provide an extract from the criminal record (model 596-2).
Both in Belgium (the communities) and internationally (IOC), there are initiatives aimed at preventing and combating sexual misconduct in sport.
Flanders
- Have you experienced sexually transgressive behavior, recently or in the past? Don’t keep it to yourself—share your story. You can reach out to various people and organizations. You’ll find them on the Sport Vlaanderen website.
- Every Flemish sports federation has an Integrity Contact Point (API). Within the federation, this is the first point of contact for anyone with a question, comment, complaint, or other message related to (sexual) transgressive behavior and integrity.
- In addition, you can contact the Flemish Reporting Point for Transgressive Behavior to file a report or simply for advice or support. This reporting point is available by phone (0800 13 184), via chat, or by email (meldpunt@vlaanderen.be).
Francophone community
- In line with the new federation decree (in effect since 2020) and the ‘Ethical Code’ decree (2014), each sports federation commits to setting up a structure responsible for questions related to tolerance, respect, ethics, and fair play, and to appoint a contact point.
- You can find more information on the Adeps website.
International
- The IOC’s ‘Prevention of Harassment and Abuse in Sport’ (PHAS) working group collaborates with experts and stakeholders from the Olympic Movement to develop initiatives that protect athletes from harassment and abuse in sport.
- During the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, the ‘Games-Time Framework’ sets out how athletes are protected and how incidents can be reported. More information is available on the Athlete365 platform.
- In addition, the IOC has developed several educational tools on the prevention of sexual harassment and abuse.
- Through a toolkit and guidelines, the IOC supports national and international sports federations and National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in drafting and implementing policies to prevent harassment and abuse.
- More information about the IOC’s initiatives can be found on the website www.olympic.org or on the Athlete365 platform.