Take Part in the Solidarity Quilt
The G4CI Solidarity Quilt is for anyone who has experienced abuse in gymnastics both in the UK and overseas. If you have faced barriers in reporting, or wish to stand in solidarity with those who have - please get involved. Every contribution strengthens our collective voice, turning individual courage into a shared stand for justice and change.
G4CI Solidarity Quilt
Following the release of Athlete A in 2020, hundreds of gymnasts worldwide came forward to formally report abusive and harmful coaching practices to national governing bodies, child protection agencies, and the police.
In the UK, British Gymnastics established the Independent Complaints Process to handle these reports. Yet instead of being heard or protected, many whistleblowers suffered secondary harm and re-traumatisation through the process. Meanwhile, coaches accused of abuse were often allowed to continue working in the sport, as meaningful sanctions were not enforced.
The Gymnasts for Change International Solidarity Quilt, led by participatory textile artist Jane Thakoordin (Grenfell Memorial Quilt), was created to expose the failures of the Independent Complaints Process and similar systems worldwide.
This project transforms trauma, secrecy, and legal silencing into visible, collective, and materially expressive acts. Quilting, long associated with domestic, gendered, and communal practices, becomes a form of protest, turning private pain into public witness. Each stitch carries testimony, reclaiming voices where official processes have failed and making the invisible tangible.
Through kinship and creativity, the Solidarity Quilt builds a counter-archive that honours the courage required to speak truth to power and preserves survivors’ hopes for a safer, more ethical future.
A Counter-Archive of Kinship and Care
Recovery from harm in gymnastics is not a linear journey. Research shows that resilience and post-traumatic growth flourish through peer-to-peer projects that build solidarity and foster community. When survivors are heard, validated, and supported, pain transforms into connection, strength, and advocacy that drives real change.
Our Gymnasts for Change International Solidarity Quilt is a transformational project rooted in reflection and community. Creativity becomes a tool for healing, and the quilt stands as a bold symbol of what happens when survivors unite in solidarity. Each patch carries a story, a truth, and a refusal to remain silent. Together, the quilt embodies the power of collective care and collective action.
If you have been affected by the Independent Complaints Process, or other British Gymnastics complaint mechanisms, as a gymnast, parent or friend, we invite you to contribute to the quilt.
Through creativity, courage, and community, participants expose the failures of institutions that listen without hearing and shape a safer, more ethical future for the sport. Those outside the UK can join by downloading a project pack and participating in an online workshop.
This quilt has been designed to travel the world, to be seen in exhibitions and public spaces, where awareness of abuse in gymnastics can raised. It carries a message that cannot be ignored: the failure of the Independent Complaints Process, and that of similar complaints processes around the world, is unacceptable.
If you are a survivor or an ally who would like to sew in solidarity, or someone who can help share this work, whether as a curator or a gallery, please reach out. We’d love to hear from you.
Every setting in which our quilt is shown, will help keep the truth of our survivors alive. It honours those affected who have spoken up, it demands accountability, and it resists the silence that allows harm to continue.
Project Goals
Unpicking the ICP: G4CI Solidarity Quilt Launch
This online event launched the G4CI Solidarity Quilt in Feb 2026. The event was introduced by international human rights lawyer Kat Craig, who outlines the failings of the ICP set up by British Gymnastics in the wake of The Whyte Review and includes an integenerational conversation between award-winning textile artists Jane Thakoordin and Jahnavi Inniss, moderated by Matilda Pye. The artists discussed their practice and contextualized their work within the radical political history of quilting.
Spending these workshops surrounded by people who are survivors, allies, campaigners and activists, has broadened my understanding and appreciation of the strength that is needed to speak out, no matter how long a time between the experience and where we are now in our lives. In terms of the quilt, all voices are welcome, however loud or quiet - anyone who wants to contribute is encouraged to do so.
— Jane Thakoordin, Lead Artist, G4CI Solidarity Quilt