From the start of 2027, the sports grants reform will introduce new obligations for clubs and associations, including criteria relating to responsibility and accessibility. The City will offer support and assistance to organisations by introducing them to the key organisations and expert bodies involved in the responsibility and accessibility criteria of the grant reform. A wide range of services and resources are available to sports clubs and associations, providing them with the support they need to promote responsibility and accessibility.
In this article, we take a look at the You Are Not Alone service run by the Family Federation of Finland, which offers support for the prevention and handling of harassment, inappropriate behaviour and violence in sport and leisure activities. The aim of the service is to make the development of safe leisure activities as practical and accessible as possible. With the help of free resources, training, an online course and expert support, clubs and associations can strengthen their expertise and develop their activities and structures.
Service to offer support in challenging situations
The You Are Not Alone service is a support scheme launched in collaboration between the Finnish sports sector and the Family Federation of Finland. The service helps to prevent various forms of inappropriate behaviour and provides support in situations where such behaviour has occurred.
The service offers counselling to anyone involved in sport – athletes, coaches, referees and other active club members. Clubs and other sports organisations can also consult the service’s experts when dealing with incidents relating to safety or inappropriate behaviour in the context of recreational activities.
“We consider it essential that clubs and organisations involved in sport and physical activity are able to approach us at a low threshold and in confidence. In fact, these consultation services are already being widely utilised by various organisations,” says Mikko Kuronen, a youth specialist from the You Are Not Alone service.
The service also provides training for harassment contact persons working within organisations, as well as support for setting up a harassment contact person programme. Harassment contact persons will have the opportunity to receive peer support and to make use of the materials and guidance produced to assist them in their role.
The service operates as an independent and impartial body outside the sphere of sport and leisure activities. The staff at the You Are Not Alone service are specialists from the Family Federation of Finland.
Free resources help clubs with sustainability work
Creating a responsible and safe working environment is not always easy. Forming and maintaining it also takes up resources. The You Are Not Alone service’s website features resources to promote safe club activities, such as orientation support materials and season plans. The aim is to ensure that the materials are as easy to implement as possible.
“We recognise that resources for leisure activities may be very limited. Not all clubs necessarily have the time or resources to produce orientation materials, for example. In these situations, we hope that the materials we are able to provide can meet this need,” Mikko Kuronen says.
The materials can be used as part of the orientation and training of coaches and other club staff. In this way, expertise relating to responsibility and the prevention of inappropriate behaviour is strengthened throughout the club community. A safe and inclusive environment for leisure activities also helps foster a sense of commitment to the club community among participants and volunteers.
“Participants who feel a sense of wellbeing and belonging are committed to the community and its goals. It can also help people to continue with their hobbies during transitional phases, when the risk of giving them up may increase," says Mikko Kuronen.
Online course on preventing violence and harassment in sports clubs
The You Are Not Alone service’s free online course provides basic information on preventing violence and harassment in sport. The course can be taken independently and in stages. Upon completion, participants will receive a certificate which they can use to prove their skills within their own club, for example.
The course enables club officials to improve their ability to recognise forms of psychological and sexual abuse in sport, in particular, and to learn ways of addressing inappropriate behaviour. The course also forms part of the responsibility and accessibility scoring criteria for Helsinki’s general grant for sport.
Impartial support can make it easier to deal with challenging situations
A particular strength of the You Are Not Alone service is its role as an organisation operating outside the realm of sport and leisure activities. In clubs, people often know one another, which can make it difficult to bring up sensitive issues.
“People involved in sports and leisure activities often get to know one another quite quickly. When dealing with challenging situations, the threshold for bringing matters up for discussion may rise in such circumstances. When talking about these things with us, there is no need to worry about issues such as bias in the same way,” Mikko Kuronen explains.
Clubs can easily get in touch with the You Are Not Alone service and receive advice and support from a professional on issues relating to inappropriate behaviour.
Campaign to highlight violence in leisure activities
This autumn, the You Are Not Alone service will launch the ‘If emotional bruises showed on the skin’ campaign, which highlights mental and physical abuse occurring in leisure activities.
Not all violence or inappropriate behaviour is visible to others. Hurtful words, actions and situations can take the joy out of a hobby and leave you feeling afraid, ashamed or inadequate. The campaign serves as a reminder that humiliation and bullying have no place in any sport or leisure activity. If your experiences within a hobby have hurt you, you can seek help.
The campaign calls on all sports and fitness clubs, as well as other organisations involved in leisure activities, to raise awareness of the issue through their own channels and to discuss the theme with participants, parents and club officials. Common rules and open discussion create a sense of security and protect everyone from emotional and physical harm.
Impact extends to entire culture of sport
The You Are Not Alone service also aims to influence physical activity and sports culture more broadly and to strengthen the structures that underpin safe and equitable leisure activities. The service collaborates with, amongst others, sports federations, the Finnish Olympic Committee, the Finnish Center for Integrity in Sports, sports organisations and the Ministry of Education and Culture.
This news article is part of a series in which we introduce the key stakeholders and specialist organisations involved in the responsibility and accessibility criteria for the sports grants reform. The aim is to help clubs and associations easily find services, resources and support that they can utilise in their own activities and in developing their social responsibility and accessibility.
- Read more about the You Are Not Alone service and make use of the free resources, online courses, training programmes and expert support in your own organisation(Link leads to external service)
- Make use of the You Are Not Alone communication materials in your organisation’s communications(Link leads to external service)
- General grant for sport website(Link leads to external service)
- News article: Grants reform – Towards more responsible and accessible physical activity in Helsinki