Statement on Safe Sport

CANADIAN BLIND SPORTS ASSOCIATION
[the “Organization”]
Safe Sport Policy Manual

STATEMENT ON SAFE SPORT

The Organization and its Members have a fundamental obligation and responsibility to protect the health, safety and physical and mental well-being of every individual that is involved in the Canadian Goalball and blind sport community.

The Organization and its Members take any situation involving misconduct or maltreatment very seriously. For this reason, the Organization and its Members are collectively committed to enacting and enforcing strong, clear, and effective policies and processes for preventing and addressing all forms of misconduct or maltreatment.

This Safe Sport Policy Manual contains policies for the Goalball and blind sport community, that are applicable from the national level to other levels as adopted by the Organization’s Members. The policies are intended to promote a Safe Sport environment in a manner that allows for consistent, immediate, appropriate and meaningful action should any issues arise, but also to prevent issues from arising in the first place by communicating expected standards of behaviour.

Should any individuals involved with Goalball and blind sport programs, including Athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, and parents of Athletes, wish to report any instance of misconduct or maltreatment, they may do so directly to the Organization. They may also contact the Canadian Sport Helpline by phone or text at 1-888-83-SPORT (77678) or by email at info@abuse-free-sport.ca. Finally, they may contact the organization’s Safe Sport Ombuds Brian Ward at safesport_wwdrs@primus.ca.

The Organization makes the following commitments to a sport environment free from Maltreatment:
a. All Participants in sport can expect to play, practice and compete, work, and interact in an environment free from Maltreatment.
b. Addressing the causes and consequences of Maltreatment is a collective responsibility and requires the deliberate efforts of all Participants, sport stakeholders, sport club administrators and organization leaders.
c. Participants in positions of trust and authority have the general responsibility to protect the health and well-being of all other Participants.
d. Adult Participants have a specific ethical and statutory duty and the additional responsibility to respond to incidents of Maltreatment involving Minors and other Vulnerable Participants.
e. All Participants recognize that Maltreatment can occur regardless of age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, ethnicity, Indigenous status, or level of physical and intellectual disability and their intersections. Moreover, it is recognized that those from traditionally marginalized groups have increased vulnerability to experiences of Maltreatment.
f. All Participants recognize that individuals who have experienced Maltreatment may experience a range of effects that may emerge at different time points and that can profoundly affect their lives.
g. All adults working with children and youth have a duty to prevent or mitigate opportunities for misconduct.
h. In recognition of the historic vulnerability to discrimination and violence amongst some groups, and that continues to persist today, Participants in positions of trust and authority have a duty to incorporate strategies to recognize systemic bias, unconscious bias, and to respond quickly and effectively to discriminatory practices.

The Organization also recognizes the recent development of the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS). Since the UCCMS may continue to evolve in the foreseeable future, this Safe Sport Policy Manual incorporates the key elements of the current version of the UCCMS. Going forward, and prior to April 1, 2021, this Safe Sport Policy Manual will be amended further to ensure that the UCCMS is fully incorporated and can be implemented appropriately.

The Organization will provide all Participating Members with assistance, where necessary, in the implementation of this Safe Sport Policy Manual. While this policy identifies persons who are blind, deafblind, or partially sighted as vulnerable individuals, the Organization asserts that it is committed to encouraging diversity, equity and inclusion in all of its activities. As such, a crucial part of its mandate is to enhance the quality of, and increase the level of participation in, its leadership and programs for athletes who are blind, deafblind, and partially sighted, while supporting and encouraging their independence.

Since the UCCMS may continue to evolve in the foreseeable future, this Safe Sport Policy Manual incorporates the key elements of the current version of the UCCMS as follows: