Safe Sport Programme

The development of the Unified Code and the Safe Sport Programme was guided by the following international frameworks on safeguarding in sport.

The International Olympic Committe's Prevention of Harrassment and Abuse Initiatives (PHAS) includes the 2016 Consensus Statement: harassment and abuse (non-accidental violence) in sport, which provides evidence and research regarding these harmful behaviours and their impacts.

Jurisdictions like the US, Canada and Australia have developed frameworks appropriate to their sporting landscapes.

The Safe Sport Unified Code and the Safe Sport Programme is based on these universal concepts and international evidence but also contextualised for Singapore's sporting landscape and the sporting community through extensive consultations.

Any sports organisation may adopt the Unified Code by referencing to it in their organisational safeguarding policies.

Harmonisation and Accessibility are the two guiding principles of the Safe Sport Programme and providing a single framework for all levels of sport and different types of sporting organisations is one of the key objectives.

For example, commercial sports organisations that wish to have access to the policy repository, training and education resources and train a safeguarding officer may become Member Organisations of the Safe Sport Programme.

Find out more about Member Organisations or complete an online Organisation Health Check to assess any potential safeguarding needs.

The Safe Sport Programme provides a streamlined and harmonised approach to mitigate threats to Safe Sport and is designed to ease the administrative burden on sporting organisations. It also reduces the risk of accusations of bias and conflicts of interests often associated with non-independent investigations and disciplinary processes.

The Safe Sport Programme supports Member Organisations in two main areas:

(1) creating a safe sporting environment underpinned by the Unified Code

(2) addressing reports of concern.

Member Organisations receive support through training of the organisation’s safeguarding officers, access to model policies (e.g. child safeguarding, travel, recruitment, digital communications), training and education resources for participants in their sport to help them understand their roles and responsibilities.

When a sporting organisation becomes a Member Organisation of the Safe Sport Programme, the Safe Sport Commission also manages the independent assessment and referral of reports of concern which fall under its mandatory jurisdiction.

To fully implement the Safe Sport Programme, a Member Organisation will have to:

(1) adopt the Unified Code and the rules of the Safe Sport Programme on case management and resolution by putting in place a Safe Sport Policy which applies to the relevant persons (i.e. employees, contractors, athletes or participants under its governance and jurisdiction)

(2) appoint a trained Safeguarding Officer

(3) enforce the terms of the Safe Sport Policy across its membership, programmes and/or sanctioned events

The Safe Sport Commission will undertake an onboarding process with each Member Organisation to ensure that the Safe Sport Policy is tailored to its needs.