Sportable Observes Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Awareness Month with New Prevention Initiatives

RICHMOND, VA – (Tuesday, April 23, 2024) – In observance of April as National Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Sportable announces another year of partnership with the Virginia Department of Health Office of Family Health Services, Injury and Violence Prevention Program (VDH IVPP) to continue addressing the prevention of sexual violence in adaptive sports.

This work is more important than ever, with an alarming lack of prevention efforts geared towards children with disabilities who are 3-5 times more likely than children without disabilities to be victims of sexual abuse.

A thought leader in adaptive sport, recreation, and wellness, Sportable applied this same pioneering approach to abuse prevention, creating the first-of-its kind, evidence-based prevention program geared specifically towards youth with physical disabilities, led by coaches with disabilities. This program has garnered national attention and will be expanded in the coming year. Additionally, Sportable developed a roadmap to help other organizations build a strategic, evidence-based, and inclusive sexual abuse prevention program: Resource for Action: Sexual Abuse Prevention in Youth Adaptive Sports.

“Sportable’s commitment to protecting our athletes goes far beyond compliance and basic safety measures,” said Hunter Leemon, Sportable Chief Executive Officer. “Leveraging the critical relationship between coaches and athletes, we have prioritized teaching the skills and building the culture in sport that will lead to real and lasting change.”

With the renewed VDH collaboration, Sportable will create new gender-inclusive programs led by coaches; expand technical assistance to empower other organizations to replicate the program and develop sound policies and procedures; produce new abuse prevention training videos for volunteers and staff; train adaptive sports professionals around the state; and contribute to the body of evidence-based prevention programming.

“With visionary partners like VDH, Sportable is able to reach more youth, coaches, parents, and community members with our prevention initiatives, the impact of which cannot be overstated. As one of our young adult athletes put it, ‘having a program like this when I was younger would have helped me feel more comfortable, safe, and empowered in my own body.’ This program will have a lasting impact on current and future athletes to prevent abuse and keep their safety the number one priority,” continued Leemon.

For more information: https://sportable.org/abuse-prevention/