sa:sf The Report of the Independent Review of Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football July 2020 Independent Review into Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football THE REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF SEXUAL ABUSE IN SCOTTISH FOOTBALL Introduction Football is our national game. It represents, probably, our largest and most significant cultural institution. Football’s reach touches almost every family and community in the land. Historically it has acted as an expression of our country’s aspirations and hopes often focussing the hearts and minds of our nation. For well over a century young people have benefitted from supporting and playing the game at all levels and in all parts of the country. Currently, approximately 325,000 children and young people participate in Scottish football (UEFA European Benchmark – Kantar (2019)). This is an astounding number and makes football the leading participation sport amongst children in Scotland. Many more are spectators and supporters. For some it has been the mainstay of their formative years. It is the subject of folklore and myth, of debate and passion, hopes dashed and dreams realised. But most importantly it has been a place where young people have invested their time, their ambition, their skill and their energy for generations. For some it has provided a refuge from other stresses and concerns, for others a focal point for their personal development and wellbeing leaving them with skills and benefits to last a lifetime. However, for others, football in Scotland has come to represent a very different picture. A source of trauma and torment, a site where they experienced the unimaginable at key points in their young lives leaving many of them with legacies of trauma, pain, depression and anxiety. Football for some young people became synonymous with experiences that left an indelible negative and distressing imprint on their lives – a legacy characterised by shame, confusion and self-doubt. The impact of these experiences and of the actions of the individuals who perpetrated them is incalculable with significant cost to personal and family relationships; mental and physical health and wellbeing; financial and material security; education and employment; community solidarity and belonging; confidence; self-acceptance; trust; and so many other aspects of their lives. For some the struggle to deal with what has happened to them within football has been extremely arduous and marked by regular setbacks. For others they have managed to greater or lesser extents to overcome these experiences sufficiently to build successful futures. Tragically however some have not survived. Whatever the impact and however the individual may have been able to deal with these experiences, many have largely done so in silence struggling for many years with confusion, guilt and recrimination alone, deprived of the support and understanding of those around them and from the justice to which they are unquestionably entitled. But many have now come forward despite considerable odds to articulate their experiences, mostly for the first time, and to seek public redress for the serious wrongs which have been done to them under the auspices of our national game. Football and Scottish society are indebted to them for their courage, determination, resilience and forbearance. It is also important to recognise the difficulty faced by their families when these experiences are brought to light at the same time as recognising and commending the strength, love and support which they continue to provide to their loved ones who have been so intimately and personally affected by sexual abuse and exploitation. The decision to be open about these experiences whether by giving testimony in legal proceedings, talking to the media or contributing to the Independent Review was for most an extremely difficult one requiring them to put into words experiences and feelings which most people would find almost impossible to describe. The Independent Review also fully understands why many people personally affected by sexual abuse in Scottish football have still not come forward. This is not because they lack courage or are less interested in personal resolution or justice. Quite the contrary. The barriers they face are enormous…. created by a society which has historically doubted the histories of ‘survivors’; attributed them with dishonourable motives; been steeped in denial; and created a narrative around sexual abuse and its impact which – sometimes but not always inadvertently – reinforces the strong sense of shame, guilt, fear and self- blame which individuals associate with their experiences. Sexual abuse is not a “historical” issue. It is not something confined or consigned to our past. It is not an aberration driven by societal conditions long overcome or outdated. The preconditions and possibility of sexual abuse in families, in communities and in sport remain and endure. The impact on those harmed in the past endures. We may have taken steps to improve the protection of young people through 1 Independent Review into Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football increased awareness and creating pathways for reporting but we have not significantly tackled the prevention of child sexual abuse nor have we confronted fully its legacy. The Independent Review of Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football was set up to consider these issues and to make recommendations for change. To do so the experiences and narratives of people personally affected by sexual abuse in Scottish football have been central. They were not simply the focal point of our concerns and deliberations but provided the main lens through which we viewed the past and assessed the present. We are also well aware that the issue of child sexual abuse has affected a great number of social institutions, agencies and organisations from sport to broadcasting to faith communities to residential and foster care and more. It has also been a feature of family and community life in Scotland to an extent which is still largely unknown. Public concern persists. Periodically allegations concerning non-recent sexual abuse in institutional settings elevates this concern as do other media reports of more recent abuse in families and communities. Historically our understanding of child sexual abuse, how it occurs, what it is and how it impacts individuals, families and communities has come mainly from the accounts of people who have been personally affected by it.... that is, people who have been abused. Academic discourse and research as well as professional experience has also helped us to develop our understanding. So, the primary objective of the Independent Review has been to contribute to learning. That is, through understanding what happened and the circumstances surrounding non-recent incidents of sexual abuse; examining the developments in Scottish football since these events concerning the protection of young players; and assessing current arrangements and issues, the Review set out to identify what lessons can and should be learned. With this knowledge it has been the intention of the Review to provide a range of recommendations aimed at ensuring, as far as is possible, that these experiences cannot be repeated and that young people are able to engage in our national game with their safety and wellbeing paramount. A range of recommendations were made in the Interim Report of June 2018 and these are repeated in this Final Report along with update positions pertinent to each so that progress since 2018 can be gauged. The aims of the Independent Review are in accordance with the views of those who have been personally affected by sexual abuse in Scottish football. Indeed, this process and its outcomes form part of the justice to which they are entitled……the undertaking that the possibility of sexual abuse in Scottish football is eliminated and that no young person, now or in the future, experiences what others have personally endured and the impact it has had on their lives. This undertaking is one which the Review takes seriously and which it is hoped the entire football family, and indeed all Scottish society, will share. But the efforts and commitment of people personally affected, their families, their allies and the Review are only properly satisfied and justice met if real improvement and change is realised. The confidence of Scottish society and the football community in our national game has been damaged by the events of the past. This needs to be restored but in a meaningful and effective way – not through cosmetic change or knee-jerk. So often in the past reviews and inquiries have not demonstrably led to effective change and the right outcomes. It is outwith the ambit of the Independent Review to deliver the change we recommend but it is the responsibility of those in leadership in Scottish football to do so. It is also within the gift of Scottish society through vigilance, effort, commitment and participation to see that these changes are followed through by holding football to account. This will bring us nearer than ever to a day when our young people can derive every benefit from our national game in full safety and in the knowledge that their wellbeing is paramount. It will also be an important contribution to overcoming the blight of child sexual abuse in Scotland. How did we review these issues in Scottish football? The Review engaged directly with 240 individuals as part of the Review process. A further identified 71 individuals who had been personally affected by sexual abuse in Scottish Football, including family members and friends, engaged with the Review. 33 individuals provided personal accounts including actual allegations of sexual abuse in Scottish football directly to the Review. The vast majority reported relevant information to Police Scotland as 2 Independent Review into Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football part of the criminal enquiries. These people provided their personal accounts and information to the Review mainly in face-to-face meetings and a small number by telephone conversation and/or email.