Standing Committee on the Status of Women

Comité permanent de la condition féminine

For immediate release

Ottawa, June 14, 2023 -

The House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women (the committee) today tabled its report entitled Time to Listen to Survivors: Taking Action Towards Creating a Safe Sport Environment for All Athletes in Canada.

Maltreatment in sport is an ongoing problem and survivors have been reporting this for decades. Maltreatment takes many forms, and can be physical, sexual, emotional or psychological. Maltreatment can also take the form of discrimination. Some groups of athletes are more likely to be victims or need particular protections against maltreatment. This is the case for women and girls, who are more likely to report experiencing maltreatment than men and boys.

This report highlights various measures that can be taken to protect women and girls from maltreatment in sport. The committee has made 24 recommendations to help eliminate maltreatment in sport in Canada.

Of note, the committee believes that it should be a priority for the Government of Canada to establish an independent national public inquiry to shed light on how the sports system has allowed maltreatment of athletes of all levels to occur without any action being taken to stop it.

The report can be consulted on the committee’s web page on the Parliament of Canada website.