U.S. Center for SafeSport Marks One-Year Anniversary of Groundbreaking Legislation

DENVER, UNITED STATES, February 14, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The U.S. Center for SafeSport, an independent nonprofit dedicated to ending all forms of abuse in sport, today commemorated the one-year anniversary of the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017, signed into law on February 14, 2018.

“We’re grateful for the bipartisan leadership of Senators Feinstein, Grassley, Thune, Kuster and Brooks,” said Regis Becker, Interim CEO of the U.S. Center for SafeSport. “Their efforts help the Center ensure that athletes, regardless of age or competitive level, can participate in sports that are free from bullying, hazing, sexual misconduct, or any form of emotional or physical abuse.”

The law authorizes the Center to independently respond to and resolve allegations of abuse within U.S. Olympic and Paralympic sports and reinforces its mission to provide the nation’s athletes and sports communities with abuse prevention education, policies and procedures. In the year following the bill’s passage, the Center developed and provided free, comprehensive materials including a Parent Toolkit, Parent Training and Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies and was honored by the Congressional Victims’ Rights Caucus for its work to protect athlete well-being.

Among other things, the legislation set into motion the Center’s creation of a national centralized database, which integrates the sexual misconduct findings that pre-date the Center, having been previously resolved by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement’s national governing bodies (NGBs), with the Center’s existing publicly searchable database. This advances the mission of the Center and creates a one-stop resource that every parent, athlete and sport organization can use for screening and background checks. The NGBs complete and certify all historical records before submitting to the Center for the centralized database.

Between opening in March 2017 and December 2018, the Center received over 2,127 reports, issued 340 disciplinary actions and designated more than 260 individuals permanently ineligible to participate within the Movements and its affiliated clubs and organizations.

In addition to response and resolution services, the Center consults sport organizations on abuse-prevention techniques and policies including best practices and tools. More than 540,000 individuals have taken its trainings. For more information on the Center’s services visit www.safesport.org.

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About the U.S. Center for SafeSport
The Center is the first and only national organization of its kind, focused on ending all forms of abuse in sport while carrying out its mission of making athlete well-being the centerpiece of our nation’s sports culture through abuse prevention, education and accountability. As an independent non-profit headquartered in Denver, CO, the Center provides services to sport entities on abuse prevention techniques, policies and programs and provides a safe, professional and confidential place for individuals to report sexual abuse within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movements. To learn more please visit www.safesport.org.

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