The wall of silence surrounding sexual abuse in Serbian sport is growing ever thicker, while research shows that more than half of surveyed athletes have either witnessed or experienced inappropriate behavior. Sports journalist Snežana Pantović and renowned karate athlete Tatjana Petrović told Newsmax Balkans that there is a systemic lack of legal mechanisms to protect children. Pantović cites alarming data indicating a rising trend of sexual abuse against boys, referring to the case of a coach from Novi Pazar who, after serving a prison sentence in Austria for the rape of boys, changed his identity, returned to Serbia, and continued working with children—repeating the criminal offense. Institutional cover-ups are illustrated by a case within the Karate Federation of Serbia, where proceedings were initiated against a former national team coach and federation president for abusing a minor athlete. Instead of receiving support, the victim was expelled from the national team and stripped of her scholarship, sending a message to other girls to remain silent. Petrović warns that sports federations often “sweep the problem under the rug” to protect their reputation, while parents—driven by hopes for their children’s success—sometimes ignore clear warning signs and the manipulative behavior of predators. Education as the only form of prevention is at the core of a new international project launched by the Sports Medicine Association. Experts urge parents to be vigilant if coaches attempt to isolate a child, request “special” one-on-one training sessions, or build inappropriate closeness. Without the introduction of rigorous background checks for coaches and clear safeguarding protocols within clubs, children in Serbia remain unprotected targets for predators who use sport as a platform for their crimes. All of these issues will be addressed within the Erasmus+ project COVIS, co-funded by the European Union, to be implemented in Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece.
