European University Sports Association (EUSA) and its Institute have taken part in several initiatives on safeguarding in sport, and we can highlight some that directly or indirectly addressed the topic. 

Among them are the EU-supported projects Prevention of Sexual Violence in Sport, Voices for Truth and Dignity (VOICE), Halting Harassment and Abuse in Sports using Learning Technologies (HALT) and Inclusion in Sport (iSport).

Also using the information and experiences from these initiatives and other good practices, EUSA developed a safeguarding and incident policy, which is being enforced in our organisation and for all our events. The policy is accessible online at https://www.eusa.eu/media/documents/incident-policy

We were also happy to share our experiences which are available in the newly published resource materials of the Building European Safe Sport Together (BESST) project, co-funded by the European Union. Research highlighted the need to broaden safeguarding efforts beyond athletes and children to include all participants in sports – such as coaches, referees, officials, sports administrators, volunteers, and others – to foster a true safe sport culture and uphold the core values of the sport itself.

These findings highlight the essential need for prioritisation and resources to strengthen awareness and capacity for effective safeguarding measures and, most importantly, to drive a culture change towards sports free from transgressive behaviours. To learn more about the projects and access all the resources, please see https://besst-safesport.eu/resource-library/.

EUSA is committed to actively promoting excellent behaviour and self-conduct, which are regularly associated with students, and encourages students from across Europe to get to know each other, develop a greater understanding of each other’s culture and to enjoy fair and competitive sport. We will continue our work in the field of safeguarding, also by learning from other initiatives, and revising our policies and procedures.