The ICP is gone – but will things get better for gymnasts?
It has been reported that British Gymnastics will replace the independent complaints process (ICP) set up after widespread concerns over the treatment of gymnasts, following criticism from survivors of abuse.
I was pleased to work with the BBC on this story and to support my client, Laura (not her real name), to bravely tell her story and the impact of the abuse she experienced as a child.
Laura developed anorexia, bulimia and depression – something she and her family blame on her treatment by her gymnastics coaches – and missed almost five months of school. However, despite us supporting Laura through her civil claim and achieving a five-figure payout from British Gymnastics, some of the allegations about her treatment were not upheld, and Laura felt the ICP process failed her, as it didn’t encourage accountability and acknowledgement from her coaches. In my experience, this acknowledgement is often vital for abuse survivors to help them heal and move on.
It is good news that British Gymnastics will be replacing the ICP, even if it is several years too late, and indeed ten months after British Gymnastics’ own review (the Wagstaff review) recommended it be replaced. However, questions remain – it is not yet clear to me what the new complaint process is going to be and how British Gymnastics is going to address the concerns that were raised with the existing ICP – for example, failures to communicate updates to complainants, failures in gathering the relevant evidence from both complainants and coaches, failures in managing expectations of what the process would involve and ultimately, creating an overly legalistic and labyrinthine process that took years to go through. This suited no one.
There is a real risk that the problems seen within the ICP will continue to arise under any new system unless British Gymnastics addresses the underlying issues that led to these failures in the first place.
I strongly feel that there should be explicit recognition that the ICP has failed many complainants who went through the process in good faith. There is also uncertainty about what will happen to the cases still progressing through the ICP and not yet resolved, or those who went through the process and were left unhappy with the result. Those individuals deserve clarity and reassurance. If their cases are deemed “closed” and cannot be reconsidered under the new system, those survivors will be left feeling that their experiences were not properly heard or acknowledged.
It’s encouraging to see the ICP being replaced, and I hope the new complaints system delivers real accountability. Most importantly, it must place survivors at the centre of every investigation, with a commitment to transparency and genuine healing.
Anyone who has experienced abuse at a gymnastics club is welcome to contact me directly for free, confidential and no‑obligation advice about their rights.
