The Importance of Integrity: Raising the bar on member protection and child safeguarding
Promotion of good ethics and values in sailing clubs and organisations provides a level of confidence in sailing activities which helps to develop the number of people becoming interested in the sport and in the sailing community as a whole. It is vital that we place a high level of importance in this area and keep ourselves and other stakeholders up to date and informed.
Having a National Integrity Framework supports sailing organisations in mitigating threats to integrity and streamlines the administration processes by utilising Sport Integrity Australia’s (SIA) independent dispute resolution process. Not only does that lighten the load for sailing organisations, but Sport Integrity Australia also offer a variety of online courses, including child safeguarding and more, which helps to keep everyone educated. Accessing the Sport Integrity Australia education page also opens the Play By The Rules online courses with even more learning options in this area.
SIA Online Education Link: https://elearning.sportintegrity.gov.au/login/index.php#
Setting the standards of behaviour expected of those involved in sailing to ensure everyone is aware of their rights and responsibilities is the aim behind the Australian Sailing Member Protection Policy and it is always good to refresh knowledge on this policy on a regular basis.
The Australian Sailing Child Safeguarding Policy provides a proactive approach to sailing’s commitment to maintain high standards of care to the safety and wellbeing of all children participating in our sport. It is important to note that this is a generic policy and that each state or territory may have additional requirements. It is important to review these too as changes are made at government level.
Integrity Hub Link: https://www.sailing.org.au/about/integrity-hub/
SUGGESTIONS
- Consider adding this topic to the agenda for every committee meeting – you can review information in small sections.
- Consider a working group to get more people involved and drive cultural change.
- Create a role as a Member Protection Contact and appoint someone.
- Allocate relevant online courses to selected stakeholders to complete.
- Create a culture where everyone can see the values & ethics – posters etc.
RESOURCES
