In today’s world, sports are an important component of society. To no small extent, sports contribute to people’s joy and quality of life and impart important values such as fairness, tolerance, teamwork and commitment. They reinforce societal ties and simultaneously present a mirror of society.

Sports connect people—yet such close connections can also conceal dangers. In elite sports, athletes are confronted with special circumstances. Physical closeness to one’s trainer or other athletes is entirely normal in sports. Mutual trust is easily built up. The pressure of performance and common endeavors outside of the family environment are also part of sports. Boundaries can quickly be crossed and such close relationships easily taken advantage of.

Violence and especially sexual abuse in elite sports continue to be taboo subjects; unfortunately these are omnipresent. These have occurred not infrequently in the past, and people continue to turn a blind eye to violence and abuse and sweep incidents under the rug.

There are no valid figures in connection with abuse offenses in elite sports in Europe, particularly Austria. In Germany, the research project “Safe Sport,” conducted by the German sports academy of Cologne in 2016, surveyed approximately 1800 team sports members over the age of 16 representing 128 different sports in a total of 57 athletic leagues about their experiences with sexual violence in sports, meaning actions with physical contact, without physical contact and behaviors that crossed boundaries. The study revealed that one-third of those surveyed had already experienced a form of sexual violence, whereby the majority of those affected were under the age of 18 at the time of the first incident. One of nine respondents stated that they had experienced serious or long-lasting sexual violence in sports. Both men and women are affected by abuse in elite sports; however, women are affected significantly more frequently than men.

The “Safe Sport” study shows that abuse in elite sports is not a matter of isolated cases but rather represents a problem that affects the whole of society, one that must be tackled sustainably and effectively.

Moreover, a central finding of the “Safe Sport” study is that sexual violence in elite sports occurs no more or less frequently than it does in the general population. Athletes in particular are role models for many children, youth, adults and senior citizens, and they contribute to the image of their country globally due to their successes and demeanor.

Not only will consistently combating and ostracizing violence in elite sports set an unequivocal global example, but doing so will simultaneously set an example in all other areas of sports in the general population due to the role model capacity of elite sports.

The alliance partners resolve to perform their social responsibility to combat violence in elite sports with full determination. Perpetrators must be investigated and held responsible through consistent criminal proceedings. In addition, measures for prevention and intervention are essential to help to prevent violence in elite sports and continue to outlaw perpetrators. This explicitly includes outlawing elite as well as recreational athletes who have committed or who commit domestic violence. Athletes are role models for youth and continue to be role models beyond sports and into the domestic environment.

It is in this spirit that the Diplomatic Council, the DC Mission Vienna, the alliance WhiteIT, as well as representatives of nonprofit organizations, associations, industry and academics unite in search of legal, technological and political solutions to effectively prevent all forms of violence in elite sports while respecting civil rights and therefore  form the:

Alliance for Non-violent Sports

and call upon all corporations, associations, nonprofit organizations and academics to join in our effort.

Object of the Alliance / Legal Terms

§ 1 Goal

The goal of the alliance is the development and implementation of a holistic strategy for combating violence in sports. This strategy ranges from prevention to intervention as well as prosecution, all the way to aiding victims. It serves the realization of technological, legal, academic and political instruments. The Alliance will incorporate preexisting measures and partnerships among government, business and academics into its work. Elite sports should be viewed in this context as a model for recreational sports. The initiative is expressly directed towards combating abuse at all levels of sports.

The following are important elements of such a strategy:

• Eliminating taboos surrounding this topic in sports associations, sports clubs and in society
• Enlightenment and sensitization of athletes, young athletes, parents, coaches, sports associations and sports clubs about the dangers in sports in connection with abuse offenses
• The creation of a culture of attention and action in connection with abuse in elite sports as well as recreational sports. The domestic environment should be addressed along with the athletic environment.
• A comprehensive, objective, criminological-empirical analysis of the actual initial conditions as a basis for the development and specification of the Alliance’s strategy
• The establishment of a common standard for mutual auditing
• The development of quality standards for intervention, prevention and securing of a safe athletic environment
• The development and implementation of protective concepts under the focus of effective and sustainable combating of violence in elite sports and supporting prosecution of offenders
• The creation and securing of offers to assist victims
• The creation and securing of offers to assist and advise sports associations and sports clubs in suspected cases
• Banning athletes in elite as well as recreational sports who have been or are perpetrators of domestic violence. Athletes are role models for youth and their capacity as role models continues beyond sports and into the domestic environment.

§ 2 Activities

1. Events

The Alliance collaborates on events that serve above all the exchange of opinions and ideas, reflection, as well as the presentation and discussion of possible solutions.

2. Public Relations

The Alliance participates in public relations in the sense of active information and communication politics. Public relations work is directed towards raising awareness of the goals of the Alliance and increasing awareness of its existence as well as its partners. The Alliance develops and disseminates informational material and other publications.

§ 3 Collaboration

The partners commit to collaboration and support within their financial and organizational means and will adopt separate rules of procedure for this purpose as needed.

§ 4 Rights

1. Brand names and corporate descriptions

For joint public relations work within the Alliance, the Alliance partners will allow each other, for the duration of their participation in the Alliance, to use each other's company names and naming rights and trademarks as designated by their respective name holders.

2. Copyright and intellectual property rights

For the contents developed in this Alliance, all copyrights and intellectual property rights remain with their originators. The partners grant each other any rights necessary for physical or non-physical publication within the framework of this Alliance.

§ 5 Other Terms

1. No legal requirements between Alliance partners for carrying out concrete activities exist under this Memorandum. Details of the mutual collaboration and the individual activities in accordance with §§ 2 and 3 of this Memorandum, as well as any costs the individual Alliance partners accrue in this connection will be settled by the involved Alliance partners in separate written agreements.

2. Each Alliance partner is entitled to terminate his or her participation in this Alliance at any time. Termination occurs via written declaration to the DC Mission Vienna.

3. Should further agreements on concrete activities within the framework of this Alliance in accordance with § 5 No. 1 of this Memorandum not be made, any legal claims (e.g., for damages or reimbursement of costs) between the Alliance partners—for any legal reason—are excluded.

4. Every Alliance partner will use any information received from another Alliance partner within the framework of the discussions and collaboration under this Memorandum exclusively for purposes for which they were received. This information shall not be made available to third parties and shall be protected like their own trade secrets. This requirement does not apply to information that is generally known, information the receiving Alliance partner demonstrably developed independently or legally obtained from third parties without breaching a confidentiality agreement, or information whose publication the disseminating Alliance partner had previously agreed to in writing. This requirement likewise does not apply to cases in which parties are forced to disclose information contained therein for legal reasons. This requirement applies for five years upon abrogation of this Memorandum.

5. Any disputes arising out of or in connection with this Memorandum shall be definitively settled by one or up to three arbitrators appointed in accordance with the Rules of Arbitration of the International Arbitral Tribunal of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (Vienna Rules). Austrian material law is applicable to this Memorandum of Understanding.

6. Changes to this Memorandum must be made in writing. This formal requirement may only be waived in writing.

7. This Memorandum goes into effect via signing by at least two Alliance partners. It is terminated once all but one Alliance partners have ended their participation in the Alliance; § 5 No. 4 and 5 remain unaffected