Child Protection
Cirencester RFC consider that they have a moral obligation to ensure when given responsibility for children and young players, that coaches and volunteers provide them with the highest possible standard of care. It is with this in mind that we have established a set of guidelines for use by all members of the club which will help us to safeguard the welfare of the children and prevent their abuse. We recognise that we have a responsibility:-
* To safeguard and promote the interests and well being of all children with whom we are working, regardless of age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious belief and/or sexual identity.
* To take all practical reasonable steps to protect children from harm, discrimination, or degrading treatment.
* To respect their rights, wishes and feelings.
Child protection procedures will:
* Offer safeguards to the children with whom we work, and to our coaches and club members
* Help to maintain the professionalism and the safeguards of good practice, which are associated with the RFU and RFUW
In all cases strict confidentiality will be upheld with regard to any person involved in disciplinary proceedings unless there is an overriding obligation in the interests of child safety or enforcement to share information with other interested parties.
It is recognised that any procedure is only as effective as the ability and skill of those who operate it.
What Constitutes Child Abuse?
The term child abuse is used to describe all the ways in which children are harmed, usually by adults and often by those they know and trust. It refers to the damage that has been, or may be, done to a child's physical or mental health. This damage may occur at home, at school or even within a sports environment. An adult may abuse a child both by inflicting harm and by failing to prevent harm. Alternatively, a child may abuse another child and evidence suggests that this is an increasing concern for young people. Child abuse can take many forms but can be broadly separated into five categories.
* Neglect – failing to provide adequate food shelter or clothing, constantly leaving a child alone unsupervised, failing to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment, refusing to give children affection or attention. Neglect in a sport situation could include a coach failing to ensure that children are safe and comfortable, or exposing them to undue cold or to unnecessary risk of injury.
* Physical Abuse – when someone physically hurts or injures a child by hitting, shaking, throwing, scalding, suffocating or causing deliberate physical harm. Giving children inappropriate drugs or alcohol also constitutes physical abuse. Physical abuse in a sports situation may be deemed to occur if the nature and intensity of the training and competition exceeds the capacity of the child's immature and growing body.
* Sexual Abuse – occurs when adults or other children use children to meet their own sexual needs. This could include masturbation, oral sex, intercourse or fondling. Showing children pornographic materials also constitutes sexual abuse. In some cases, physical contact between the coach and the child is essential for safety reasons, failure on the part of the coach to explain at the outset may result in concerns that sexual abuse is taking place.
* Emotional abuse – children who have suffered neglect, physical or sexual abuse will also have suffered some level of emotional abuse. Also by imposing developmentally inappropriate expectations on them, making them feel worthless, unloved, inadequate, making them feel frightened or in danger, shouting at, threatening or taunting them, overprotecting them or conversely, failing to give them the love and affection they need. Emotional abuse can occur in sport if children are subjected to constant criticism, name calling, sarcasm, bullying or unrealistic pressure to consistently perform to high expectations.
* Bullying and Harassment – The effects of bullying may be invisible, but can leave lasting emotional scars. The bully is not always obvious to others and the victim often keeps quiet. (Please see anti bullying policy). Harassment is closely associated with aspects of bullying and occurs when an individual feels that they are subject to behaviours from others that is unacceptable to them. The competitive nature of sport makes it an ideal environment for the bully, it could be a parent that pushes a child too hard, a coach who shouts at, or humiliates children or children who actively seek to make sport a difficult or unhappy experience for others.