How We Got Here

Before the Whyte Review (2022), the culture within British Gymnastics was high-control, fear-based, and normalised around over-training, with expected compliance from gymnasts (the majority of whom were children). The Whyte Review was itself triggered in response to an outpouring of pressure from a national movement of athletes coming forward, with Gymnasts for Change International emerging as a campaigning vehicle to drive lasting change.

At the centre of Gymnasts for Change International’s campaign work was a group civil claim, involving 40 British gymnasts, set up by the organisation’s co-founder and CEO, Claire Heafford.

Six years on, this movement has not only initiated fundamental change within British Gymnastics. It has played an important role in a wider international awakening around athlete welfare and abusive coaching cultures across sport.

In 2024, Gymnasts for Change International became a charity and received financial backing from the Oak Foundation - a prestigious human rights funder - marking a new chapter of structured, resourced and highly focused campaigning.

Our Approach

Across gymnastics - and sport more widely - courageous survivors have been speaking out about the harm they have experienced in systems that historically prioritised performance, medals, and reputation over athlete wellbeing. Until recently, athlete voices have been ignored, minimised and silenced. It wasn’t until 2020, following the release of Athlete A, that a huge outpouring of athlete testimony and determined campaigning finally began to lead to change.

Major investigations such as the Whyte Review (UK), the Wagstaff Report (UK), Change the Routine (Australia), the David Howman Report (New Zealand), the Senate Nassar Report (USA), the Magglingen Protocols (Switzerland), Ongelijke Leggers (Netherlands), the Safe Sport Review (USA), and the Future of Sport Report (Canada) have made the scale of the problem impossible to ignore. Meanwhile, in the UK, the government has committed to ambitious action to tackle violence against women and girls, recognising that harmful cultures must be challenged wherever they exist. It is now up to decision-makers and the wider culture within sport to choose the right path forward.

Sport is at a Crossroads

  • “By uniting gymnasts and putting them in touch with each other, Gymnasts for Change International amplifies the voices of each gymnast. If one person stands up, they might feel quite alone, but when they're put in touch with other gymnasts, that voice gets louder and louder and cannot be ignored. Gymnasts for Change International have played a vital role in ensuring that change has started and will ensure that the change needed will continue.”

    Joseph Carr, Senior Associate, Abuse Claims Team, Bolt Burdon Kemp

  • “Claire Heafford is a former gymnast, elite 400M sprinter and in her words, a professional agitator. In my opinion, the world changes because of people like Claire. Claire fights for good against the systemic, ingrained abuse that millions of gymnasts have suffered in the world of gymnastics, mainly young women and girls.”

    Anthony Ogogo, Professional Boxer, Wrestler and Olympian

  • “Now, more than ever, we need to continue to call for safe sport mechanisms that acknowledge the complexity and sensitivity of abuse, recognise the impacts of trauma, and are genuinely fit for purpose - so that we know our next generation of gymnasts will be more thoroughly protected.”

    Alison Quigley, Former Gymnast, Survivor, Co-founder, Athlete Rights Australia & Australian Campaign Manager, G4CI