People urge Olympic committee to take action against volleyball player convicted of raping 12-year-old competing
Leaders of various crisis and support lines are calling for the International Olympics Committee to investigate why a convicted rapist has been allowed to compete.
Netherlands beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde has qualified for - and is subsequently set to compete in - the upcoming 2024 Olympics in Paris, France.
However, the 29-year-old's participation has faced intense scrutiny as a result of the sportsman having previously admitted to three counts of rape of a minor in 2016 - with the child being 12-years-old at the time when Van de Velde was 19 in 2014.
Van de Velde was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 - and only served 12 months of the sentence.
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The Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC) defended its decision to include van de Velde in its Olympic beach volleyball team despite his past actions.
A spokesperson told BBC Sport that Van de Velde had 'sought and received professional counselling' after his release from prison and 'demonstrated to those around him - privately and professionally - self-insight and reflection'.
This sentiment was echoed by Netherlands Chef de Mission Pieter van den Hoogenband, who expressed that he was 'a bit surprised by the fuss' and argued things 'are exaggerated' around the times of the Games.
However, leaders from rape support lines and anti-violence against women's organizations have since spoken out.
CEO of Rape Crisis England & Wales, Ciara Bergman, said, as quoted by the Mail Online: "That convicted rapists are able to serve a sentence or complete a course of psychotherapy and then return to their career demonstrates a failure to centre survivors in our response to rape.
"Survivors must find ways to cope with an array of (usually) lifelong impacts, including trauma, flashbacks, poor physical and mental health, and a lack of access to proportionate justice.
"And yet convicted rapists who have high-profile careers are allowed to resume them often with their status framed as somehow mitigating their crimes."
Indeed, when van de Velde was sentenced for three counts of rape in 2016, Judge Francis Sheridan told him his 'hopes of representing [his] country' now lay as a 'shattered dream,' however, that statement has ultimately since been proven wrong.
Bergman resolved: "It sends a damaging message - that competing in sports matters more than raping a child, and that so long as a perpetrator of sexual violence has 'moved on' from their behaviour, the victim and the rest of us should, too."
Executive director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, Andrea Simon agreed it sends a 'worrying message' to rapists that 'there will unlikely be any consequences' to their actions and subsequently there's 'no deterrent' from them committing such atrocities, as per The Guardian.
Anti-violence against women and girls campaigner David Challen, added: "[Allowing van de Velde to compete] tells young women and girls that the harm men inflict on them will be easily forgotten about in men’s paths to their dreams and glory."
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
Topics: Olympics, Sport, World News
Poppy Bilderbeck