Safe Sport Community Library

In recent years, huge strides have been made in the field of safe sport. However, there is still a long way to go to ensure all athletes and practitioners feel welcome, safe and protected. This is particularly true for sports like Muay Thai, which lack adequate oversight from sports governing bodies and robust safeguarding policies. This year, Under the Ropes is marking Safe Sport Day by publishing a community safe sport library to combat this by making safeguarding resources more accessible to the Muay Thai community. While some of the organisations and resources listed below are specific to certain sports or regions, they contain useful information for anyone looking to learn about safeguarding in sport.

It’s essential that sport safeguarding policies are informed by the experiences of athlete-survivors, academic research, and leading experts. This way, organisations can follow best practices to create environments where people feel safe and comfortable making reports, cases are handled with care, and perpetrators are held accountable. Thankfully, there are several safe sport entities providing this much-needed expertise, many of which offer free resources. Here, you can find an extensive collection in one place, including templates for policies, online training courses, toolkits, printable materials, guidelines for LGBTQIA+ inclusion and many more.

It’s important to note that safeguarding in sport is not one-size-fits-all, and policies cannot be simply copied and pasted. To be effective, they need to be tailor-made to specific sports, regions and communities. However, the free templates listed below can provide a great starting point in helping you build customised approaches that serve your local gym.

See below for direct links to resources provided by safe sport entities and experts in various countries, contexts and languages.

The Athlete Survivors Assist (aka The Assist)

The Assist (formerly The Army of Survivors) is an organisation founded by survivors affected by the landmark USA Gymnastics case to end the culture of abuse in sports by advocating for change, creating safe reporting procedures and helping sport organisations become trauma-informed. The Assist is the only national organisation in the US specialising in athlete-survivor advocacy, with expertise in sports trauma.

The Army of Survivors also use their expertise to provide services, including assessment, consultation, policy design and support, and crisis response planning.

Sport & Rights Alliance

A global coalition of leading rights organizations pressuring sports bodies to ensure they respect international standards for human rights.

Safe Sport International

A UK-based charity driving global international standards for safeguarding, informed by research, guided by athlete-survivors and led by industry experts.

Safe Sport International also offer consultancy packages tailored to meet your needs led by their international network of experts, who have played major roles in the development of safe sport over the last 25 years.

Sport England

Sport England is a UK government-funded body responsible for developing grassroots sport.

Voices in Sport

Voices in Sport is a project from NWG (National Working Group), commissioned by Sport England, which creates a range of resources built in collaboration with people with lived experience of abuse in sport. These resources were created with the aim of helping people to recognise and respond to harm, abuse and neglect while amplifying the voices of those most impacted. This includes a range of short films exploring key themes.

Kyniska Advocacy

A UK-based, athlete and survivor-led organisation working to foster safe sport environments free from harm and abuse.

We Ride Together

A non-profit organisation led by the parent of a survivor of sexual abuse in equestrian sport, advocating for the elimination of sexual abuse in youth and amateur sports.

Ann Craft Trust

A British charity working to end abuse and neglect of adults, with a dedicated sports department.

Child Protection in Sport Unit

A branch of the UK’s NSPCC which helps sports organisations create safe and inclusive environments for children, founded in response to high-profile cases of abuse in sport.

This Girl Can

This Girl Can is a UK National Lottery-funded campaign by Sport England to increase women’s participation and representation in sport. In September 2025, they launched a Safer Spaces to Move Hub to support sports clubs and communities in creating safer and more inclusive spaces. The hub provides access to free resources, including guidance for how to implement best practices for responding to reports of sexual violence and online training e-modules.

Sport Ireland

An authority responsible for sport development in Ireland.

Children First

A Scottish charity working with Sport Scotland to provide advice, resources and consultancy to help young people stay safe in sport.

Singapore’s Safe Sport Commission

A secretariat responsible for case management, safeguarding policy implementation, and education in Singaporean sports.

Guardsport

A Singapore-based organisation supporting best practice in safeguarding in sports by providing bespoke training services.

GuardSport also offers sport-specific safeguarding services.

U.S Center for Safe Sport

A non-profit working to end all forms of abuse in sport in the US.

Abuse-Free Sport

A Canadian non-profit working to prevent and address maltreatment in sport.

Sportieq

A Belgian organisation supporting the Flemish region in creating safe, healthy and ethical sports cultures by providing policy and case support, reporting pathways, and downloadable safeguarding materials.

Sportieq also offer consultancy for bespoke policy design to sports organisations in Belgium.

Safe Sport Allies

A collaboration between several European sports organisations establishing materials for bystander intervention in sport in Beglium.

Change the Game

The first Italian association of volunteers fighting against sexual, emotional, and physical violence in sports.

Athlete 365

An initiative from the International Olympic Committee providing support, resources and tools for elite athletes and Olympians.

Centre for Sport & Human Rights

A human rights organisation with the aim of raising awareness and promoting the development of human rights in sport.

The Council of Europe’s Joint Programme for Child Safeguarding in Sport

Building European Safe Sport Together (BESST)

A project funded by Erasmus+ dedicated to empowering sports organisations across Europe to establish robust safeguarding frameworks.

Sport Integrity Australia

An organisation providing assistance to prevent and address discrimination, harassment and abuse in Australian sports, as well as other integrity issues.

Play By The Rules

An organsisation South Australian Department for Sport and Recreation to provide interactive education and information on discrimination, harassment, abuse and child protection in sport.

The African Union Sports Council

Consejo Superior de Deportes (Spanish Council for Sports)

The national sports council of Spain, which is responsible for promoting, planning and developing sports activites in the country.

  • Activity guides for the prevention of child sexual abuse in sport (In English & Spanish)

100% Sport – The Austrian Centre for Gender Competence & Safe Sport

An initiative by the Austrian Ministry of Sport promoting gender equity and safeguarding in sport.

Virtus

Virtus is the global organisation responsible for governing and organising elite sport for athletes with intellectual impairments. In 2021, they launched Virtus Academy, a global hub for research, training and education. There, you can find a wealth of resources to help you learn more about how to create safer, more inclusive sport spaces. There’s also a range of free online courses, with topics including safeguarding, autism awareness, coaching elite athletes with intellectual disability and/or autism, and anti-doping.

Sport GVP

The Sport GVP project is a collaboration between several European Universities to create practical solutions for preventing and responding to gender-based violence in sport. It involves a structured set of activities to share knowledge and data.

Other Initiatives to Check Out

Have something to add to the Safe Sport Community Library? Leave a comment below to make a submission.



Emma Thomas
Creator of Under the Ropes

Emma is a sports ethicist specialising in safeguarding in Muay Thai. She’s also a former fighter, athlete-survivor and advocate, and has been writing about gendered issues in Muay Thai since 2013. After living in Thailand for 12 years, she completed a master’s degree in Sports Ethics & Integrity in Europe, conducting the world’s first study on sexual harassment & abuse in Muay Thai.

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