Swim England makes steps to address historical abuse

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has been appointed to conduct the independent desktop review of historical safeguarding cases that were referred to or handled by Swim England between January 2013 and December 2022.  

The UK children’s charity NSPCC aims to prevent child abuse and specialises in safeguarding.

Human rights partner Dino Nocivelli, who has an extensive background in representing abuse survivors in sports has raised concerns on whether the desktop review is comprehensive enough to make amends. 

Previously, Dino was involved in a BBC Panorama documentary on ‘The Dark Side of Swimming Clubs’ which investigated abuse in British swimming, and how some young athletes have faced eating disorders after being bullied by swimming coaches.

Dino also represented a woman, now in her 30s, in a settlement against Bridgend County Borough Council, after she was sexually abused by former swimming coach Robert Rixon.

Dino Nocivelli said:

“Whilst this much needed review makes some steps towards investigating how some survivors suffered abuse in swimming, I have my reservations on whether it goes far enough.

“There ought to be a more thorough investigation carried out that is not time restricted and allows survivors to engage with the investigation. It is challenging enough for abuse survivors to disclose and address abuse as it is, and we need to do all that we can to make sure that investigations have survivor input and lead to genuine changes to better protect children in the future.”