Introduction. The magnitude of the problem of interpersonal violence (IPV) against young athletes in sports is still understudied. The European project 'CASES' offered important and partly unexpected data for six countries (N=10.302). The results show high prevalence rates, different groups at high(er) risk, low reporting rates of the victims and peers as most frequently mentioned group of perpetrators.


Purpose. Prevalence data in this field is needed to base prevention efforts on empirical evidence and to convince public decision makers about the necessity to address this issue within sports federations and sports clubs. A successful implementation of adequate safeguarding strategies contributes to good health and wellness of the athletes (SDG3), to gender equity (SDG5) and to strong institutions (SDG16). Coaches play a significant role in identifying risks for IPV in the context of organization-specific risk analyzes and in implementing prevention measures in a culture of mindfulness.


Method. Through focus-group-discussions the attitudes of coaches on implementing safeguarding principles within sports organizations based on a resources- and risk-analyzes model were analyzed via grounded theory.


Results. Although coaches are convinced that prevention of IPV is an important task for sports clubs, the results show, that they do neither see any risk in the specific confidence relationship to their athletes, nor do they reflect their uncertainty regarding closeness and distance or physical contact institutionally. They also fear that a culture of awareness could be interpreted as mistrust of colleagues or of sport in general. Most of the coaches are not aware of groups at high risk or peer violence at all.


Conclusions.
Findings indicate there is a need for both - further research on the role of coaches and education of coaches dealing with the multiple challenges with regard to this topic based on prevalence data and a deeper understanding of safeguarding in a culture of mindfulness.