Chapter 8: ‘I'm a Problem to Some People’: Survivor-Advocacy in Organised Sport

The importance of including victims of abuse within prevention responses has recently received some attention within the sport sector. This chapter reports on a UK initiative, funded by a national sport agency, which aimed to provide a platform for individuals with a ‘lived experience’ of child abuse in a sport context to deliver awareness-raising events for stakeholders within the sport sector. Interviews were conducted with the participants to explore their experiences. This chapter reports on their primary motivations for participation, the concerns and anxieties they experienced, as well as wider issues relating to engagement with the sport sector. The discussion reflects on the challenges and potential of such activity and will be of interest to those with a personal experience of abuse, practitioners and researchers working with survivor-activists and those working in safeguarding and child/athlete welfare more broadly.