Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube, [email protected]
SAFEGUARDING has become a topical issue in Zimbabwean sport with a lot of attention paid to the safety of girls and other vulnerable people.
A safe participating environment is essential for women’s sport to grow.
Gertrude Ndlovu, the head of Luveve High School and a member of the National Association of Secondary School Heads, said a lot has been done to create a good environment for the girls to participate in sport.
Unlike in the past, when they participated at their own risk without trained personnel or even female company, it is now compulsory that teams have a chaperone or somebody trained for that.
“The Girl Child is safe when she attends sport because we now teach them how to behave when out at sport,” said Ndlovu.
She said they emphasise to the girls that sport is an activity that can give them a future.
“Sport is an activity, which can give them a future and we tell them that by participating they are selling their talents and they therefore need to listen to whatever they are told by their chaperones or trainers,” said Ndlovu whose school belongs to Reigate District and was part of the dozen schools that participated in the Reigate National Association of Secondary School Heads Track and Field Championships last week.
When going to competitions, the girls are provided with all the requirements, including sanitary wear.
Ndlovu said in order to ensure the girls are looked after well, male teachers are trained to manage girls when on sporting tours.
Girls have in the past found themselves compromised when faced with health issues while in the company of male teachers and coaches.
ends
