Andreea Răducan and Narcisa Lecușanu, two great sportswomen of Romania, were invited by Terre des hommes Romania Foundation to a dialogue on safety and sport, facilitated by Paul Bercea, expert trainer-consultant in safeguarding, who offered his own recommendations from his 20 years of experience. The dialogue took place during the "Safe Sport Allies" Conference organised on 19 May by Terre des hommes Romania Foundation, dedicated to children's rights. It brought together coaches, top performance athletes, sports schools, representatives of Handball, Football, Artistic Gymnastics Sports Federations, authorities - Ministry of Sport, Ministry of Education, Romanian Olympic Sports Committee and the National Authority for the Protection of Children's Rights and Adoption (ANPDCA).
The conference focused on warning signs and the role of witnesses to possible abuse and the various ways in which they can intervene. Participants also debated the best ways to promote safeguarding further in Romania, at as many levels as possible, so that no child is at risk in a sporting context. Mrs Adina Codreș, Senior Advisor at the National Authority for the Protection of Children's Rights and Adoption, drew attention to the fact that the definition of violence is almost a page long in the Law and that there are many forms of violence - from caring for tools and surfaces to humiliation, and all sports professionals and parents need to be aware of this.
During the same event, a series of new safety education materials were presented to encourage and facilitate dialogue with young people and children and the reporting of any misconduct. These included a series of conversation cards or games. They will soon also be published online, free of charge, at https://www.tdh.ro and https://www.safesportallies.eu/for anyone to use.
Bercea concluded, "As an adult, when we notice a problem with a child, let's pause mentally for 10 seconds and ask ourselves what is the cause, because everything has a cause. Let's not judge, let's ask the child if he is doing well, let's look at what is going on in his life (even when he is the one behaving aggressively). The general rule: if it's not good for my child, it's not good for any child. As a sports professional always think like a parent".
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