Playing safe: Assessing the risk of sexual abuse to elite child athletes

Young athletes frequently suffer from being seen as athletes first and children second. This has consequences for their legal, civil and human rights as children (Kelly et al., 1995) and for the way in which sport organisations choose to intervene on their behalf to protect them from physical, psychological and sexual abuses (Brackenridge, 1994). Sport careers peak at different ages depending on the sport: in some, children as young as 12 or 13 may reach the highest levels of competitive performance; in others, full maturity as an athlete may come late into adulthood or even middle age. Recognition of this variation has given rise to the concept of ‘sport age’ (Kirby, 1986) referring to sport-specific athlete development. This concept is of significance in helping to identify the developmental process in terms of athletic, rather than chronological, maturity. The risk of sexual abuse in sport, formerly ignored or denied, has now been documented in a number of studies, using both quantitative and qualitative methods (Kirby & Greaves, 1996; Brackenridge, 1997; Volkwein, 1996). Drawing on data from these studies and from the previous work on sport age and athletic maturation, this paper proposes a possible means of identifying and assessing relative risk of sexual abuse to elite young athletes in selected sports. The concept of a ‘stage of imminent achievement’ (SIA) is proposed as the period of peak vulnerability of young athletes to sexual abuse

Prevalence of sexual harassment among Norwegian female elite athletes in relation to sport type

Although it is often assumed that the prevalence of sexual harassment is different in different sports, this assumption has not been empirically tested. This study considers whether the experience of sexual harassment varies by sport. The female elite athletes (N = 553) in the study participated in 56 different sport disciplines. These were grouped as follows :1) team or individual sports; 2) extent to which clothing required for competition is revealing ; 3) gender structure (male-or female dominated membership statistics); and 4) gender culture (masculine, gender-neutral, or feminine). The data show that sexual harassment occurs in every sport group. Female elite athletes who participated in ‘masculine’ sports appear to experience more harassment than women in the other groups. We conclude that, when it comes to female athletes’ experiences of sexual harassment, sport type matters far less than sport participation per se

The name of the game: a review of sexual exploitation of females in sport

Sexual harassment and abuse has been a recognized problem in the workplace, schools, and residential homes for more than three decades. Many professional policies highlight the potential for abusing positions of trust, and therefore forbid intimate relationships between, for example, doctors and patients, and psychologists and clients. Yet, abuse of power in the coach-athlete relationship has only recently been acknowledged. This paper discusses definitions of sexual exploitation, prevalence figures, methods used for entrapping athletes, potential risk factors, signs of abuse and harassment, and the consequences for survivors

Coach and athlete perceptions of ambiguous behaviors and sexual harassment: implications for coach education

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of coaches and athletes of ambiguous behaviors (i.e. actions which may or may not be construed as sexual harassment) in order to inform curriculum development in coach education. This study replicates and extends a previous American study which examined perceptions and experiences of sexual harassment among 210 female college athletes in the USA (Volkwein, et al., 1997). The Americans’ research design was based on earlier work in education by Garlick (1994). The present study is the first, large-scale UK survey of sexual harassment among student athletes (n = 311) and coaches (n = 182). A sexual harassment questionnaire (Garlick, 1994) was adapted to a sport setting and UK context. The questionnaire contained statements regarding 19 ambiguous behaviors. Factor analysis identified four subcategories of the questionnaire: Invitations/1-to-1; Social enquiries; Invasion of personal space; Personal Enquiries. A 2 x 2 (Gender by Role) MANCOVA, with age as a covariate revealed no interaction effect (Wilk’s Λ= .99, F (4, 481) = 1.46, p > .05), but both main effects were significant (gender Wilk’s Λ= .93, F (4, 481) = 8.62, p < .001, role Wilk’s Λ= .956, F (4, 481) = 5.56, p < .001). Further analysis confirmed that athletes rated each of the four sub-scales as significantly more appropriate than coaches. Females rated social enquiries and invasion of personal space as more appropriate than males