You do not suddenly become safe on your 18th birthday: managing safeguarding cases involving adult athletes in the United Kingdom

Despite publicised cases of abuse impacting those above the age of 18, little research attention has been paid to the safeguarding of adults. The present study is informed by the recommendations of the Duty of Care in Sport Review, aiming to inform the development of a case data collection tool. Semi-structured online interviews were conducted with 11 key stakeholders. Inductive thematic analysis of the interview transcripts revealed several challenges to collecting adult safeguarding case data in sport which were categorised into three domains: conceptualising cases, managing cases, and recording cases. Developing an effective case management process for adults will require a broader, and shared, understanding of the conceptualisation of adult safeguarding cases, including that vulnerability is not solely determined by personal characteristics, but is affected by the behaviour of perpetrators and fluctuates as circumstances change. Top-down support is necessary to ensure greater consistency in the reporting of valuable adult case data. With clear expectations, regarding what an adult safeguarding case is, what data should be collected, how it should be collected and why, as well as adequate resources, sports of all levels will be in a better position to protect adults from abuse or harm. A clearer roadmap for the management of adult safeguarding concerns in sport is offered.