ABSTRACT
This chapter traces developments in international policy and discourse on athlete welfare, identifying how sports policy has shifted from a focus in the mid-1970s on the prevention of sex discrimination and the promotion of equality for women in sport to a contemporary focus on the prevention of sexual violence against athletes, and especially children in sport. The implications for athletes and sports bodies of this narrow focus on one particular form of abuse are also discussed. The chapter then highlights how growing interest in and implementation of human rights in sport at national and international levels offer the potential for a new, more inclusive understanding of athlete welfare.
