Anderson (1994: 4) sees it as creating "a holistic, destructive environment that erodes self esteem, confidence and trust-. .
Child abuse is when an adult harms a child or young person. There are four main type of abuse:.
Neglect - Failing to meet the child's basic needs by not looking after them properly, neglecting to care or to protect them. .
Physical abuse - This includes any physical harm, eg. hitting, kicking or being given drugs or alcohol. In sporting context it can include over training, long hours or too much work for the age and level of performer.
Sexual abuse - Being touched in/on an intimate place of the body or being forced to have sex or watch sexual pictures or videos. .
Emotional abuse - This includes verbal abuse, being called names, being threatened. It can also include over protection by denying children the chance to socialise.
(CPSU website, 2003).
Many people have power including parents, coaches, politicians - in other words, adults. Children are vulnerable as they do not have any power in the child/adult relationship. There is a power imbalance especially between coaches and performers, and the important part of this relationship is how the coach handles this power imbalance. Child athletes and participants are sub-ordinates who will always be in danger when those in power abuse their power. Coaches exercise their power in many ways including selection process, performance process and in things such as training, diet and almost all things unless they are democratically selected by the coach and the athletes.
Child abuse in Sport.
To date there have been very few research studies into child abuse in sport. As a result, there are insufficient statistics available to give an accurate estimate of the extent of the problem. .
As with child abuse in society in general, it is hard to establish the frequency of child abuse in sport. However, there is sufficient data to presume it is not uncommon (Waddington, 2000).
