Bris

Bris, Children’s Rights In Society, is one of Sweden’s leading children’s rights organizations that fights every day for a better society for children. With the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a basis, Bris supports children in vulnerable situations, mobilizes society for the rights of the child and influences decision-makers.

For many children, sport is a safe environment that offers opportunities for development, community and physical activity. But there is another side to it. Both research and children’s and sports leaders’ conversations with Bris show that abuse and violations occur in sports. Many children who are exposed to some type of abuse take the blame for what happened and do not dare to tell anyone for fear of not being believed. 

In 2017, Bris and the Swedish Sports Confederation began a collaboration to make sports safer for children and young adults. As a first step in the collaboration, the organizations together produced the rule book The Children’s Game Rules. The book is based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and consists of seven rules for a safer sports environment. 

  1. All children are equally valuable and should be treated with respect 
  1. All children have the right to train and develop on their own terms 
  1. All children have the right to supportive adults 
  1. No child should be sexually abused 
  1. No child should be subjected to violence 
  1. No child may be bullied or abused 
  1. All children have the right to feel involved in their association 

The Children’s game rules aim to make children and young adults aware about what is okay and what is not, and concrete advice on what they can do if they need support. Through the rulebook, children and young adults that participate in sports receive the messages “you have the right to be safe”, “you are not alone”, and “if you need help or support you will find it here”. The rulebook also opens up for conversations between adults in sports, which also contributes to increased security within the community. 

The Children’s game rules were launched in January 2018, and would not have been possible without support from H.M. Queen Silvia’s Foundation CATCH. 

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