This is the third article in a three-part series by Kenyan sports lawyer Caroline Mwanzia. Read her previous articles on advocating for safe sport in Kenya and how to support athlete-survivors.
The murder of Rebecca Cheptegei highlighted a glaring lack of protection for women in Kenyan sport. This is the most recent of a string of cases, with several Kenyan athletes being murdered by their intimate partners since 2021, including Agnes Tirop and Damaris Muthee Mutua. These cases are not rooted only in intimate partner abuse, but also a lack of safeguarding, and persistent systematic and cultural barriers. The safety of our athletes needs to be keenly analyzed in order to address these barriers and make sports safer in Kenya.
Terminology:
- ‘Persons of concern’: A term used in place of ‘perpetrator’ or ‘abuser’ before they have been tried in court and pronounced guilty. Before then, this term is used because their behavior is of great concern to everyone involved.
- ‘Persons subject of concern’: Used to describe the victim/person subjected to abuse. However, it is notable that different countries, sports federations and academies define these terms differently.
Barriers to Safe Sport in Kenya
These are just some of the issues and difficulties that create barriers to safe sport in Kenya.
1. Lack of awareness and knowledge
There is a huge gap in the safeguarding context within sports in Kenya, in that there is not enough awareness concerning safe sport. Whereas it is a common area of concern, safe sport is not largely promoted because of how ‘sensitive’ the issues are viewed as. Sports federations and academies are not exposed to the know-how on different forms of abuse and harassment majorly because of lack of a safeguarding policy.
Training officers are needed to properly inform sports federations of the importance of safe sports and the importance of having a safeguarding policy in place.
2. Inadequate whistleblower protection
Persons subject of concern or in other words victims (although it is best to use ‘persons subject of concern) fear coming out and filing a report because they are afraid of being exposed to seclusion and shame. Therefore, they opt to keep quiet instead and sit with the abuse which in turn affects their psychological development.
There aren’t enough mechanisms put in place in the context of safe sport to ensure that whistleblowers are protected and not victim-shamed or victim-blamed. Additionally, there are no procedures in place to ensure that whistleblowers and the information they provide are protected, such as anonymous reporting systems.
3. Protection of persons of concern in society
In some local clubs and academies, perpetrators of the abuse and harassment reported are often protected by the club and their families for fear of being prosecuted. In other contexts, the persons of concern are the club owners and staff who seemingly have the upper hand against the person subject of concern. This affects the prosecution process as most officers are paid off leading to no consequence on the person of concern.
4. Bribery and corruption
Corruption is a huge barrier to safe sport promotion in Kenya, with money often being exchanged for loyalty and silence. When a report is made, the case is often settled out-of-court and the person of concern is released with no trial and no prison sentence. Other times, the parents and relatives of the person subject of concern are paid to drop the case, thereby delaying justice and promoting injustice.
How Safe Sport International Can Help
If you’re passionate about advancing safe sport but aren’t sure where to start, help is available. Safe Sport International provides a range of online courses and resources on safeguarding in sports, as well as consultancy from the world’s leading experts for those who want bespoke training, auditing, guidance and support.
About the Author
Caroline Mwanzia is a sports lawyer practicing in sports governance, anti-doping, safeguarding and sports research. She is also a licensed FIFA Football Agent and an ad hoc researcher at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). Caroline also has a Master’s in Sports Management and Legal Skills from ISDE, Barcelona and has obtained various certifications on integrity and safeguarding from FIFA, Biathlon Integrity Unit and World Athletics. She is a member of Women in Sports Law (WISLAW) and is particularly passionate about safe sport and clean sport.
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Articles and opinions published on the Safe Sport International Youth Perspectives Blog are the independent work of the authors. These contributions may not reflect the official stance of Safe Sport International and are published to spark conversations on safeguarding issues in sport.
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