Social safety: martial arts on the right track, but one thing can be better

Half of all martial arts gyms meet the four basic requirements for social safety. That means the martial arts sector performs clearly better than most other sports. Even so, there is room for improvement, for example in preventing and tackling bullying.

The Sportakkoord II (National Sports Agreement II) is a programme of agreements between the government and the sports world aimed at making sport accessible to everyone. One of those agreements is that sports providers will comply with four basic requirements for social safety, also known as the ‘four v’s’ (vier v’s) after the Dutch terms:

– VOG: anyone working with children holds a Certificate of Good Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag, VOG).
– Qualified trainers (vakkundige trainers). A certified trainer is always present.
– Established rules of conduct (vastgestelde gedragsregels). Clear rules are displayed at the club or in the gym.
– Confidential contact person (vertrouwenscontactpersoon). Someone can be approached about undesirable behaviour.

Better than average
The Mulier Instituut voor sportonderzoek (Mulier Institute for sports research) surveyed clubs and gyms with youth members. Through the VA, more than 150 owners of martial arts gyms offering kickboxing, muaythai and MMA took part, alongside representatives of other martial arts. A quarter of all clubs and gyms meet all four basic requirements. In the martial arts the score is considerably better: twice as many sports providers meet these requirements. For the VA, this relatively good outcome comes as no surprise. After all, the four v’s are included as requirements when applying for the Keurmerk Vechtsportautoriteit (the VA quality mark), so all participants in the study from our sports are expected to have these matters in order.

Point for improvement
Even so, there are still gains to be made. The study also included questions about accessibility, diversity and undesirable behaviour. These show that the martial arts perform well on accessibility for people on a modest income. More women and people with a migration background also work in the martial arts than in most other sports. Where the martial arts scored below par was on the theme of undesirable behaviour. Research among owners of martial arts gyms shows that bullying occurs more often here than on average within sports clubs and gyms. The VA will discuss with the Nederlandse Vechtsportbond (NVB, the Dutch martial arts federation) what more the martial arts sector can do to prevent and tackle bullying.

Reporting something yourself
Would you like to speak to someone about undesirable behaviour in the martial arts? You can contact a confidential contact person. Their contact details and further information can be found here.

More information about the study is available on the website of the Mulier Instituut.