The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017, also known as the Safe Sport Authorization Act, is an

American law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the supreme law is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as v ...

that establishes protection for young athletes. Among its provisions, it established the

United States Center for SafeSport The United States Center for SafeSport is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization set up to reduce sexual abuse of minors and athletes in Olympic sports in the United States. Established in 2017 under the Protecting Young Victims from Sex ...

as an independent entity to investigate reports of abuse and to protect athletes from abuse in the United States Olympic movement.

History

The Safe Sport Authorization Act requires Olympic governing bodies and amateur sports organizations to report

sex abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is r ...

allegations immediately to local or federal

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

, or a

child welfare Child protection (also called child welfare) is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, abandonment, and neglect. It involves identifying signs of potential harm. This includes responding to allegations or suspicions ...

agency designated by the

US Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

. It further gives the

the responsibility of ensuring that aspiring U.S. Olympic athletes can report allegations of abuse to it as an independent and non-conflicted entity for investigation and resolution, and to make sure that all

national governing bodies National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

follow the strictest standards for

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

prevention and detection. The bill amended the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, under the Commerce Committee's jurisdiction, to expand the purposes of

United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for the United States. It was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado ...

to promote a safe environment in sports that is free from abuse. The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 combined separate bills introduced in the 115th Congress by Senators

Dianne Feinstein Dianne Emiel Feinstein (; June 22, 1933 – September 29, 2023) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 38th ...

(D–CA) and

John Thune John Randolph Thune ( ; born January 7, 1961) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Dakota, a seat he has held since 2005. A Republican, Thune has been the Senate majority leader and Senate Republica ...

(R–SD) in response to the

USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal The USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal relates to the sexual abuse of hundreds of gymnasts—primarily Minor (law), minors—over two decades in the United States, starting in the 1990s. It is considered the largest sexual abuse scandal in sports ...

, allegations made against personnel involved with

USA Swimming USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team and any other teams that officially represent the United States, as well as the overa ...

and

USA Taekwondo USA Taekwondo (USAT) is the Sport governing body, national governing body (NGB) of Taekwondo for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and thus the United States' official Member National Association of World Taekwondo USAT has complete au ...

, and following Senate hearings by the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

and the

Senate Commerce Committee The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate. Besides having broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, a ...

on issues of athlete safety. Senator Feinstein introduced S. 534, the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act on March 6, 2017. Senator Thune introduced S. 1426, the United States Center for Safe Sport Authorization Act, on June 29, 2017. Following negotiations, the two bills were merged and ultimately signed into law by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

on February 14, 2018.

SafeSport

As a direct result, the

was established in 2017 under the auspices of the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization of 2017. SafeSport seeks to address the problem of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

of minors and Olympic athletes in sport. Its primary focus, for which it has

exclusive jurisdiction Exclusive jurisdiction exists in civil procedure if one court has the power to adjudicate a case to the exclusion of all other courts. The opposite situation is concurrent jurisdiction (or non-exclusive jurisdiction) in which more than one cour ...

, is to review allegations of

sexual misconduct Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature which exists on a spectrum that may include a broad range of sexual behaviors considered unwelcome. This includes conduct considered inappropriate on an individual or societal basis of morality, ...

, and to impose sanctions up to the lifetime ban of a person from all Olympic sports.Nadia Brown (2020)
''Me Too Political Science''
/ref> The function of SafeSport also covers providing a public central database of sanctioned individuals across all sports. In 2019–20, the Center imposed ''temporary'' measures in 6% of cases – those where the charges were most serious and demanded to be addressed most urgently. In 71% of cases in which ''final'' sanctions were imposed, they consisted of some level of suspension or ineligibility. As of October 2021, the Center had sanctioned 1,100 people, with the highest sanctions being permanent ineligibility. The Center cannot indict or jail individuals accused of sexual misconduct, as it is neither a

agency nor a legal body of the

U.S. judiciary The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. The U.S. federal judiciary consists primaril ...

, instead being a sports investigative body.

References

{{Authority control Acts of the 115th United States Congress Sexual abuse victims advocacy Dianne Feinstein John Thune