Safe4Athletes.org provides information and assistance to youth organizations
I recently spoke with Katherine Starr, the founder and president of Safe4Athletes.org, about her philosophy on how to better protect youth athletes against bullying, mental abuse, 
physical abuse, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse. Katherine offers a unique perspective as a former Olympic swimmer who endured sexual abuse during her 10-year career. The lack of resources available to help her was what propelled her to provide a solid framework to help vulnerable youth
Katherine recommends that youth programs create an athlete welfare advocate position. The staff person in this position is responsible for providing staff members with an education on topics related to child abuse and being the confidential contact youth can turn to discuss these types of unspeakable problems.
To learn more about becoming or creating the volunteer position of athlete welfare advocate in your sports program or learning more about the other athlete protection policies that every youth sport program should have in place, go to Safe4Athletes and find out how to implement a program for your local sports program. There is also a list of organizations that are taking advantage of her services, as well as a list of coaches who have been permanently banned from their governing bodies.
Katherine also blogs for the Huffington Post.
