Guides
Resources for Parents
How you Can Help
Parents and legal guardians play a critical role in preventing abuse, recognizing signs of trauma, and supporting an athlete survivor’s healing. Explore resources designed to help parents navigate athlete safety and advocate for safe sporting environments.
Safety & Prevention
- Understand trauma and its impacts
- Understand grooming behaviors and red flags in sports settings.
- Learn how to have age-appropriate conversations about body autonomy and boundaries.
- Advocate for strong safeguarding policies in your athlete’s sports organizations.
- Use resources like our Teaching Safety & Consent Guide to guide discussions at home and in the sports environment.
Prevention starts with awareness. As a parent or legal guardian, you are in a unique position to teach your athlete about body safety, recognize early signs of grooming, define consent, and ensure the sports environments they participate in are safe. Advocate for clear policies within your athlete’s team or organization and stay informed about safeguarding practices. Visit our Understanding Abuse in Sports page for more tools to start these important conversations.
Supporting a Survivor
- Listen without judgment and believe your athlete’s experience.
- Support your athlete’s autonomy in deciding next steps.
- Learn about trauma responses and how they may appear in athletes.
- Access our Guide for Friends & Allies to navigate these conversations.
If your athlete discloses abuse, your reaction matters. Offer unconditional belief and support. Trauma affects every athlete differently. Some may openly share, while others may withdraw or mask their emotions. Your role is to create a safe space for your athlete to heal at their own pace. And resources are available to help. For additional strategies and tools, explore our Supporting a Survivor Guide.
Trauma-Informed Parenting
- Understand how trauma impacts child development and behavior.
- Learn coping strategies to help your athlete regulate emotions.
- Prioritize open, judgment-free communication.
- Work on building trust and communication with your athlete
- Access our Trauma-Informed Athletics for Parents Guide for detailed practices.
Parenting a survivor requires patience, compassion, and an understanding of trauma’s lasting impact. Trauma-informed parenting involves validating your child’s feelings, fostering safety, and equipping them with tools to process their experiences. Our Trauma-Informed Athletics for Parents Guide offers actionable steps to support both you and your athlete on this journey.
Advocacy & Empowerment
- Advocate for trauma-informed policies within your athlete’s teams and leagues.
- Connect with other parents through peer support networks.
- Learn about your athlete’s rights within sport systems.
- Discover how to use your voice to influence safer sports cultures.
Empowered parents can drive real change in the sports community. By advocating for policy and system improvements, connecting with other families, and understanding your rights, you become a powerful force for safer sports environments. Explore ways to get involved in institutional change and support survivor-led movements like The Assist.
Every Parent/Guardian Plays a Role in Creating Safer Sports Communities
Parents/guardians are vital advocates in the fight to prevent athlete abuse. Whether you’re addressing safety with your athlete, working with their coach, or advocating for stronger policies, your involvement makes a difference.
At The Assist, we provide resources to help you confidently navigate these conversations and situations. Our Teaching Safety & Consent for Kids Guide offers age-appropriate language to introduce consent and body autonomy. For those supporting a survivor, our Supporting a Survivor Guide provides practical steps for compassionate, trauma-informed support for athlete survivor healing.
You don’t have to be an expert to make a positive impact. By learning, listening, and leading with empathy, you can help shift sports culture toward safety and respect for every athlete.
Abuse In Sport
Defines forms of abuse in athletics, risk factors, and warning signs, as well as why abuse in sport shows up differently than in other areas.
Appropriate Athlete-Coach Relationships
Guides athletes on safe disclosure, legal rights, and accessing trauma-informed support throughout the reporting process.
Athlete Survivor Mental Health Crisis Safety Plan
Personalized safety toolkit for athletes facing abuse, covering emergency contacts, safe spaces, and digital security with considerations for athletes and sport environments.
Barriers to Reporting Abuse in Sport
Identifies fears, stigma, and systemic failures that silence athlete survivors, offering strategies to remove obstacles to justice.
Disclosing Abuse in Sport
Guides athletes on safe disclosure, legal rights, and accessing trauma-informed support throughout the reporting process.
Power and Control Wheel
A visual tool showing tactics abusers use in sport, from coercion to intimidation, to raise awareness and guide prevention.
Safe Sport Entity Guide
Establishes 6 principles and 5 functions for survivor-centered, independent, and rights-based safe sport bodies (organizations that respond to and investigate abuse in sport).
Sharing Your Story of Sexual Assault Publicly
Tips for survivor-led storytelling that protects well-being, manages triggers, and amplifies advocacy impact.
Trauma-Informed Environment In Sports
Provides steps for creating safe, supportive sport settings that prioritize survivor healing and resilience.
What to Do if You Suspect Abuse or Neglect
A review of options and pathways for response and reporting. Includes strategies for athlete survivors and allies, including documenting abuse, seeking support, and knowing legal and reporting options.
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