Call to action: Start to talk
What is starttotalk.org?
“Start to talk” is a Council of Europe (CoE) call for action to public authorities and the sport movement to stop child sexual abuse. By joining this call, governments, sports clubs, associations and federations, as well as athletes and coaches, pledge to take concrete measures to prevent and respond to abuse.
“Start to talk” is about adults breaking the silence and lending children a voice.
European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
The Council of Europe Convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse contains the measures that must be taken to prevent abuse, protect the victims and put an end to the perpetrators’ impunity. These are obligations that currently bind 42 countries in Europe. The Start to Talk initiative just launched by EPAS, promotes the implementation of this Convention in the sport’s context.
Since 2015, the date of 18 November has been commemorated as the European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. The 2018 edition of this day focused on the specific theme of "the protection of children against sexual abuse in sport”. All types of activities around this theme are welcome in order to encourage interactions and exchanges, in particular, between children and parents, educators, sports clubs, associations and federations, athletes and coaches, and other professionals. We invite you to join us in the fight against sexual exploitation and abuse in sport and we offer our support if you wish to get involved (please see the supporting packages).
How can you join the initiative?
EPAS invites the Council of Europe member states to join this effort and undertake three kinds of actions:
Action 1: Launch a Start To Talk campaign at national level
Action 2: Develop or improve safeguarding and protection frameworks
Action 3: Promote training of key stakeholders
To support these actions, EPAS offers a number of concrete services (see "Supporting packages" section). Using the CoE logo and existing materials incurs no cost for our partners, but member states are expected to identify the necessary funds to implement the actions that they wish to undertake. EPAS is also launching a call for voluntary contributions to allow the Council of Europe to financially support some activities (such as the translation of material, the dubbing of the videos or the provision of expertise) when funds are not available at national level.
To express your interest in joining Start to Talk, and to have a personalised consultation on the actions, please read the section "Actions proposed" (on the CoE website) and complete the relevant online form.
This article was originally published on the Council of Europe website
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