‘Since the documentary aired, I’ve had hundreds of messages from people reaching out with their own stories of abuse in sport. From my website form alone there’s been several hundred, then my Instagram DMs are filled with more hundreds, my Twitter DMs are the same.’
It’s the day after Charlie Webster’s BBC3 documentary, Nowhere To Run: Abused By Our Coach, has premiered on television. We’ve sat down to talk about the reaction, how her own experiences of sexual abuse in sport prompted the documentary and what needs to change within athletics governing bodies. But first, we cry.
Or at least I do, confessing to Charlie that her documentary made me bawl from start to finish. The stories from victims are devastating, the cover-up accusations about those in power infuriating and the experiences of shame and guilt from those abused incredibly relatable for survivors. Knowing the scale of sexual abuse in this country, it’s the type of documentary that makes you want to stand up and scream: ‘Does anyone actually care about protecting us?!’
Nowhere To Run has made waves instantly, with ‘Charlie Webster’ trending on Google soon after the documentary aired. Her own case of sexual abuse is central to the story: Charlie was abused aged 15 by her running coach, Paul North.
In 2002, aged 19, she found out in the newspaper that he had been arrested and convicted of several counts of indecent assault and one count of rape, and placed on the sex offenders’ register. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail. It was then she realised she wasn’t the only victim, he’d been convicted based on the testimony of two other girls from her running club.
Near two decades on, the documentary thus explores Charlie reconnecting with members of her running club, women that were once her closest friends before the trauma of abuse forced her to cut ties.
Only now, aged 38, is Charlie ready to tell her story. But of course, by making a documentary, confronting those in positions of power across athletics governing bodies and now taking on the pain of other victims experiences, I wonder how she’s handling the emotional toll of all of this. Knowing the psychological trauma she must experience as a survivor, she’s incredibly brave to embark on this journey. So how did she get to this point?
‘I had tried to [confront the abuse] in the past,’ Charlie tells me. ‘I did a lot of psychology work recently, and then went on to study the impact of trauma on mental health and patterns of behaviour. What’s very common to do in the moment – and what I did – is close down. It’s actually a really good thing to do at the time because it’s probably the only thing that keeps you going. If you actually processed what was happening to you in that moment, it may be too much for your brain to handle.
The trauma that comes from abuse leaves you in a constant hyper-vigilant overwhelming exhaustion.
‘I tried to run away from it and that actually helped me survive because I was really in a lot of emotional pain and I was very depressed,’ she continues. ‘But I’ve started to realise that being constantly like that now [as an adult], how am I supposed to have a healthy relationship if I can’t trust people? Or if I close down and won’t talk about things? If there’s a part of me deep down that’s so hurt and in pain, that feels like she’s not enough or going to be taken advantage of all the time? It’s a constant hyper-vigilant overwhelming exhaustion.’
Everything changed in August 2016 for Charlie when she became critically ill with malaria after completing a 3,000-mile bike ride from the London Olympic Stadium to Rio de Janeiro - where the 2016 Summer Olympics were being held - in order to raise funds for the Jane Tomlinson Appeal. She was given 24 hours to live, put into an induced coma and on a life support machine, also requiring dialysis.
‘That broke me down and I became so vulnerable,’ Charlie explains. ‘At my rawest, [the abuse] started to all come back to me. I was having nightmares about what happened with my coach and I realised after that I mentally just wasn’t okay.
After five weeks in hospital, she was discharged and decided to see a psychologist about the trauma that was dictating her entire life. ‘For two months, I really struggled to connect with the emotion because it was so painful, but then when I did it all came out. I now realise it’s the best thing I’ve ever done in my life, because it influenced how I behaved and how I felt about myself.’
Around the same time that Charlie was finishing her psychology work she was contacted by the mother of one of her best friends from the running club, who explained that her daughter was still really suffering. ‘That’s what made me go “Right, I need to find these people and see if their okay, what actually happened and if this is still going on right now”’ Charlie explained.
The journey she embarked has become a real watershed moment. In her documentary, chief constable Simon Bailey states that Operation Hydrant – the workforce responsible for tackling cases of non-recent child abuse – has processed the details of over 11,000 victims and 9,000 suspects in the seven years since it was formed. But that’s only the victims that have chosen to go to the police, or been reported by UK Athletics (UKA) - the organisation that oversees running cubs and other athletics sports.
UKA are under no legal obligation to report instances of abuse, meaning cases over the years can easily go unreported to police. ‘Do I think that there are many, many more people that will’ve been abused as young female athletes? Unequivocally. There’s not a doubt in my mind,’ Simon told Charlie.
For anyone working with children, there is no legal requirement in England to report suspected child abuse.
In fact, for anyone working with children there is no legal requirement in England to report suspected child abuse to authorities at present. In 2018, the government decided against introducing mandatory reporting laws in England, citing a lack of 'academic consensus’ as to whether it improves child protection. Charlie tells me that those against mandatory reporting claim it would put victims off coming forward, knowing that the accused will automatically be reported to the police.
To me, that makes no sense. If a victim has gained enough courage to talk to a member of staff at the governing body of their sport – as opposed to say, a family member or friend that may be easier to open up to – surely the outcome that they’re looking for, in most cases, is justice.
‘I’ve had that conversation so many times,’ Charlie tells me. ‘It seems so politicised and it’s a really lazy argument because mandatory reporting isn’t in relation to the victim, it’s related to people in power. One of the coaches currently banned was initially reported to UKA by two other coaches, but UKA didn’t report them to the police, no one did, and the person still hasn’t been. He was put on a temporary suspension and actually told “You’re lucky we decided not to make this a criminal case”. How is that their decision to make? It’s a criminal act.’
When Grazia approached UKA for comment on the above claim, a spokesperson declined to comment on individual cases.
‘Mandatory reporting would protect other coaches, teachers, any whistle-blowers,’ Charlie continues. ‘It would get rid of the culture of closing ranks, and fear, because it would be illegal not to report it.’
Throughout the documentary, there a number of implications that cases of child abuse have been ignored by UKA and that whistle-blowers have been silenced. It makes me wonder, at what point does an organisation become legally complicit in child abuse by failing to report this criminal act?
UKA are too busy covering up and protecting their own failings.
‘That’s exactly what I think, there are no sanctions at all,’ Charlie says. ‘You have to have the will to report, and the will isn’t there. They’re too busy covering up and protecting their own failings to actually think about what they should be doing proactively. I’ve had people contact me to say [a former staff member at UKA] didn’t even record allegations, including those of rape. Why have they just got away with it? Why have there been no sanctions on this organisation? That’s what they’re scared of.’
By scared, Charlie is referencing the fact UK Athletics are yet to speak to her directly about all of this. ‘They’ve had my phone number since March and they knew this documentary was coming, but their CEO only put out a statement online after the fact,’ she says. When Grazia approached UK Athletics about not speaking to Charlie directly, a spokesperson declined to comment on the record. However, Charlie has since confirmed that an attempt has been made to contact her in order to set a meeting.
In July last year, UKA published an independent review of their safeguarding policies by Christopher Quinlan QC, who made several recommendations for changes. This was brought about after Martin Slevin, a former athletics club chairman and detective chief inspector with West Midlands Police, whistle blew on Mike Peters – a coach at Coventry Godiva athletics club. Mike was being allowed to coach at the club (and manage a track and field team which included athletes as young as 14-15) despite being banned from teaching PE after having an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a 15-year-old student.
Mike was the husband of Coventry Godiva vice-chair Zara Hyde Peters, who at the time was about to begin her role as CEO of UKA Athletics. After the news broke, former UKA chairman Chris Clark released a statement saying: ‘Following the meeting I had time with Zara to review the situation and we have agreed together, that she will now not be taking up her position as CEO on 1st December.’
Zara and Mike did not themselves comment publicly at the time. The review that came from his whistleblowing was damning, Martin told Grazia, who directly contacted Quinlan in order to contribute. Quinlan's findings have never been published publicly, with only the recommendations for change at UKA open to the public.
These recommendations included universally applicable safeguarding policies for children and at-risk adults in athletics, and for UKA to set up a new, centralised reporting system for people to log concerns. Quinlan also advised UKA implement lifetime bans for offending coaches. Previously, abusive coaches could be put on temporary suspensions and allowed move from one sport to another – something UKA’s CEO vowed to change earlier this year – since there doesn’t tend to be communication between sport clubs.
In response to Charlie’s allegations, UKA had the following to say:
‘What Charlie and other victims have suffered at the hands of some individuals in the sport is unacceptable. The welfare and safety of athletes of all ages and at all levels is our number one priority and over the last 18 months we have been fighting to make crucial changes to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.
We have overhauled every aspect of safeguarding across athletics with extensive changes and increased investment.
‘We have overhauled every aspect of safeguarding across athletics with extensive changes and increased investment. Our new structure includes a new team of specialist case workers, as well as the introduction of the “My Concern” platform which has brought athletics in line with the recognised best practice across the sports industry.
‘The improved approach is also now risk-based which enables earlier action to any report of negative behaviours and vastly strengthens the ability to conduct early interventions and prevent more serious issues. We urge anybody wanting to report concerns relating to safeguarding matters to visit My Concern.’
With respect to mandatory reporting of abuse involving under 18s, a spokesperson initially told Grazia the following: ‘We are clear in our safeguarding policies about when and how suspected crimes and offences are reported to the police which includes all matters in relation to under 18-year-olds. These processes are in line with reporting protocols across many sports.’
But according to Charlie, UKA are not reporting all instances of abuse of under 18s to the police.
‘They don’t report under 18 cases to the police, I know that for a fact’, she says. ‘There’s a current case at the moment that involves a 16-year-old being abused as well as over 18s, and the [accused] hasn’t been reported to the police. In fact, that person has been told they’re “lucky” it’s not been reported to the police.’
Charlie says the victim was ‘groomed’ and abused by a coach when she was 16 years old for over a year. The now 20-year-old victim made her initial complaint aged 18, during which time the coach accused was still working with minors, and her first and second statements aged 19. ‘Even after statements were made, there was no help or care for the victims,’ Charlie alleges. ‘They were not kept up to date with investigation. They were just told on email that the coach had been banned for five years.’
UKA did not comment on the record about this case, but the issue seems to stem from the age the victim reported. Why does that matter? It shouldn’t. But even in this instance in particular, the victim was still a minor when she was abused, and UKA said in an official statement that appears at the end of Charlies documentary that ‘all matters in relation to under 18-year-olds are reported to the police.’
When asked to comment on their statement being factually inaccurate in reference to the above case, UKA revised the wording of their statement to Grazia, instead saying: ‘We are clear in our safeguarding policies about when and how suspected crimes and offences are reported to the police including mandatory reporting for all offences in relation to anyone currently under the age of 18. This reporting process has been automatic since we introduced a new safeguarding team.
‘For any cases involving anyone currently 18 or over, we support, assist and advise them to contact the police. However the process of when reporting is considered mandatory or not is an inconsistent and at times divisive matter across sport and we would urge all the relevant bodies to work together to create a universal and consistent policy.’
This is not just UK Athletics, this is overarching.
Ultimately, what all this proves is that urgent, considered and thorough change is needed to deconstruct the way abuse in sport, and all settings involving children, is handled across this country – not just from sporting organisations themselves but at a government level too.
‘This is not just UK Athletics, this is overarching,’ Charlie says. ‘We need an overhaul of the DBS system, the criminal intelligence system to improve information sharing protocols across all organisations and sport. We need a coaching licensing scheme, we need coaches to be banned from giving massages to young athletes – it’s a gateway to abuse within all cases of abuse I’ve looked into and it’s completely inappropriate.
‘I’m also really pushing for DCMS and Sport England to get behind the creation of a resource where young people can read about survivors experiences and ask questions about what a healthy relationship between a coach and young athlete is.’
Nowhere To Run: Abused By Our Coach is now available on BBC iPlayer.
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