Hockey Canada received almost 1,900 maltreatment complaints in 2022-23
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/12/2023 (710 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TORONTO – Hockey Canada says a new independent third-party complaint mechanism received information on almost 1,900 potential cases of maltreatment during its first season.
The data is contained in the national sport organization’s latest report on the issue — which covers abuse, discrimination and harassment — released Thursday as part of its numbers-based push to address the problem across the game.
Hockey Canada says of the 1,872 complaints made during the 2022-23 season, 187 were accepted and fully processed, while more than 1,400 didn’t meet the threshold of severity to move forward and were redirected to provincial or territorial members for assessment.
Put differently, that’s an average of nearly one complaint per 200 players across the country.
Of the accepted complaints, the report entitled Tracking Maltreatment in Sanctioned Hockey showed that 50.3 per cent involved bullying and harassment, followed by sexual maltreatment (19.8 per cent), physical abuse (11.2 per cent), discrimination (7.5 per cent) and abuse of power (seven per cent).
“(The report) is critical in our efforts to identify and take action against egregious behaviours that have no place in hockey and sport in general,” Hockey Canada’s vice-president of sport safety Natasha Johnston said in a statement.
“We will continue to be transparent in publicly sharing the data we collect with our members and use the insights to better inform our collective actions moving forward.”
Of the 1,872 complaints received by the independent third party, the report stated 1,057 were made by a family member or guardian, while 598 came from a hockey association.
Hockey Canada’s report defines maltreatment as a “wilful act and/or omission that results in or has the potential for physical or psychological harm.” It can be psychological, physical, neglectful or sexual in nature, and can also include bullying, harassment and discrimination.
Officials called 913 penalties in 2022-23 related to Rule 11.4 — which deals specifically with discrimination, including race, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, genetic characteristics and disability — compared to 512 infractions the previous season.
The average number of Rule 11.4 penalties in 2021-22 stood at 1.13 per 1,000 players, while 2022-23 saw 1.90 per 1,000 players for an increase of about 68 per cent.
Sexual orientation/gender identity were by far the most common types of discrimination over the last two seasons, with the under-18 and under-15 age divisions seeing the overwhelming majority of infractions.
Hockey Canada pointed to improved awareness, education and reporting processes as potential reasons for the overall increases.
»The Canadian Press