Coaches, sexual harassment and education

Sexual harassment in sport has become an active research field within the past decade yet we know relatively little about the characteristics of the harassing coach. How are harassing coaches characterized by their victims, that is, the athletes themselves? Do they demonstrate specific kinds of behaviours? One purpose of this article is to address these types of questions. Another is to assess the usefulness of general classifications of perpetrators of sexual harassment. This is done by examining whether qualitative data from sexually harassed elite female athletes support the various conceptual frameworks for sexual harassment that are presented. Results from interviews with 19 female elite athletes who were sexually harassed by their coaches produced a sport typology that consists of three main types: 1) The Flirting-Charming Coach, 2) The Seductive Coach and 3) The Authoritarian Coach. These types are discussed in relation to the previous classifications to test the degree of fit. The limitations of monolithic classifications are exposed by this exercise: the data suggest that, rather than being one-type only, sexually harassing coaches select from a repertoire that may include several different harassment scripts. They vary these according to situational conditions. The wider limitation of social science classifications, that their categories are not discrete, also applies here. This need not be a practical limitation, however, if the typologies are used as heuristic devices rather than to determine, for example, specific disciplinary outcomes or treatment regimes. Sexual harassment prevention is often either missing from coach education programmes altogether or subsumed within broader themes such as (gender) equity or diversity management. One of the educational values of typologies is that they focus attention on the range of potential sexually harassing behaviours in ways which might otherwise escape attention. Communication styles, postures, gestures and group management techniques are just some of the elements of coaching that can be improved with an understanding of sexual harassment scripts. It is difficult to assess whether feminization of the coaching profession would lead to a less harassing environment. But, since this environment is so closely linked to hegemonic masculinity, and what are often described as traditional male values, we hypothesize that a transformation of the coaching culture, and associated re-scripting of coach behaviour, might be easier if more female coaches were involved in sport

The grooming process in sport: Case studies of sexual harassment and abuse

Drawing on interviews with two elite female athletes from different sports, one from a study in Norway and the other from a study in England, this article explores the process of 'grooming' in the context of sport. Both athletes experienced grooming for sex by their male coaches yet were able to stop the process at a particular point. Grooming has been used to demarcate 'sexual harassment' and 'sexual abuse' as separate points on a continuum of sexually exploitative behaviours. Grooming involves slowly gaining trust before systematically breaking down interpersonal barriers. Elite athletes can become trapped into compliance because they trust and like, or even love, their abusers. The motivation behind sexual harassment and abuse is often power, whereby the harasser seeks to take control over another individual. The abusers use threats (such as being cut from the team) and rewards or privileges to secure co-operation and manipulate the victims to maintain secrecy. Our primary purpose here is to use these adapted realist tales to provide a richer and more personal illustration of these events (within-case) than is presented through extrapolated checklists of 'risk factors' (cross-case). The stories also illustrate vividly elements from the different stages in the grooming process in sport, as described in previous literature. Finally, they reinforce the need to identify protective factors as part of anti-harassment and abuse prevention programmes with both coaches and athletes

Using court reports to enhance knowledge of sexual abuse in sport: A Norwegian case study

Copyright @ 2013 The authorsSport scientists face difficulties in gaining access to data on sexual abuse in sport through conventional research sources and also in verifying media reports of such cases. One potential alternative source of data is court reports. The study reported here used a small number of court reports to examine issues confronting those researching sexual abuse in sport. Two questions were investigated: What do the court reports tell us about the perpetrators and their abuse strategies? How useful is content analysis of court reports for acquiring more knowledge about sexual abuse cases in sport? Data were drawn from electronic searches of the Norwegian Lovdata (Lawdata) website. 15 sport-based cases were revealed by the searches and then subjected to content analysis, both within- and cross-case. The findings confirm previous studies in relation to the perpetrator strategies and the absence of any perpetrator stereotype. The article concludes that court reports provide one valuable, yet still incomplete, source of information against which to test our understanding of sexual abuse in sport and develop abuse prevention measure

Using court reports to enhance knowledge of sexual abuse in sport

Sexual abuse in sport is a relatively recent addition to the research agenda but has risen to prominence as a result of a number of highly-publicised cases. For scientists it is difficult to gain access to data on sexual abuse in sport through conventional survey or interview methods, or to verify media reports of such cases. One potential alternative source of data is court reports. The study reported here used a small number of court reports to examine a range of issues confronting those researching sexual abuse in sport. The following two questions were investigated: What characterised the perpetrators who were sentenced for sexual abuse in sport? How useful is content analysis of court reports for acquiring more knowledge about sexual abuse cases in sport? Altogether 15 sport-based cases were revealed from the Norwegian Lovdata (Lawdata) website. Some perpetrator-related patterns of risk and harm arising within and across the cases were examined: the findings confirm many of those of previous studies in relation to the characteristics of perpetrators and the absence of any perpetrator stereotype. The article concludes that court reports provide one valuable, yet still incomplete, source of information against which to test our understanding of sexual abuse in sport

Performance level and sexual harassment prevalence among female athletes in the Czech Republic

The results presented in this article are from a larger research project on issues related to women in sport in the Czech Republic. The article tries to answer research questions related to whether there are any relationships between the experience of sexual harassment among female athletes inside and outside sport, and at different sport performance levels. The sample, totalling 595 women, was divided into three performance groups: elite, competing and exercisers. No significant differences were found between the different performance groups in relation to their experience of sexual harassment. When we their experiences inside and outside sport were examined this picture changed: the chance of being harassed from someone in sport increased with performance level, from 29.7% among the exercisers to 55.2% among the elite level athletes. The group with the highest proportion experiencing sexual harassment, however, was the exercises outside of sport, at 73%. The high prevalence of sexual harassment is discussed in relation to the gender order in the Czech society. The difference between the performance groups’ experiences inside and outside sport offer some confirmation to the proposition that being a competitive athlete, which is associated with physical strength and high self esteem, may offer a degree of protection from harassment outside sport

Participation in college sports and protection from sexual victimization

Some sociologists have argued that sport is a male-dominated institution and sexist culture in which female athletes experience various forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment from coaches and male athletes. Some research does indicate that female athletes suffer higher rates of sexual victimization from authority figures in sport than their nonathletic counterparts in education and the workplace. In contrast, researchers have also speculated that athletic participation can protect female athletes from sexual victimization through a variety of social-psychological mechanisms such as team membership, physical strength, and self-confidence. This paper reports on the first descriptive analysis to test the “sport protection hypothesis” among both female and male athletes, using cross-tabulation secondary analyses of data from the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey, conducted in 1995 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (N=4814). USA college students of traditional undergraduate age (aged 18-24) were included in the sample (N=2903). Some limited support for the protection hypothesis was found, and student athletes were significantly less likely to report sexual victimization during their late high school and early college years than their nonathletic counterparts. A gender gap in the pattern of sexual victimization also appeared between males and females across all student age groups, with females experiencing more sexual victimization than males. However, no significant gender gap was found among athletes. The results are discussed in relation to previous studies of campus athletes and to college prevention policy

Consequences of sexual harassment in sport for female athletes

Sexual harassment research was first undertaken in the workplace and educational settings. Research on sexual harassment in sport is scarce but has grown steadily since the mid-1980s. Even so, very little is known about the causes and/or characteristics and/or consequences of sexual harassment in sport settings. This article reports on the findings from interviews with 25 elite female athletes in Norway who indicated in a prior survey (N =572) that they had experienced sexual harassment from someone in sport. The consequences of the incidents of sexual harassment that were reported were mostly negative, but some also reported that their experiences of sexual harassment had had no consequences for them. “Thinking about the incidents”, a “destroyed relationship to the coach”, and “more negative view of men in general” were the most often negative consequences mentioned. In addition, a surprising number had chosen to move to a different sport or to drop out of elite sport altogether because of the harassment

Sexual harassment and eating disorders in female elite athletes - A controlled study

The aims were to examine the percentage of female elite athletes and controls reporting sexual harassment and abuse (SHAB), and whether a higher percentage of female athletes with eating disorders (ED) had experienced SHAB. A questionnaire was administered to the total population of female elite athletes (n=660) and controls (n=780) aged 15-39 years. SHAB were measured through 11 questions, ranging from light to severe SHAB. In addition, questions about dietary-, menstrual- and training history and the Eating Disorder Inventory were included. The response rate was 88% for athletes and 71% for controls. Athletes (n=121) and controls (n=81) classified as “at risk” for ED and non-ED controls participated in a clinical interview. A higher percentage of controls, compared with athletes reported experiences of SHAB in general (59% vs. 51%, p<0.001). A lower percentage of athletes had experienced SHAB in sports than outside sport (28% vs.39%, p<0.001). A higher percentage of ED athletes than non-ED athletes had experienced SHAB (66% vs.48%) (p<0.01), both inside sport and outside sport. In spite of the fact that a higher percentage of controls compared with athletes had experienced SHAB, it is necessary to formulate clear guidelines, set up educational workshops and implement intervention programs for both ED and SHAB in sport

Sexual harassment and abuse in sport: The research context

This special issue of the Journal of Sexual Aggression draws on the contributions to a Symposium on ‘Sexual Harassment in Sport – Challenges for Sport Psychology in the New Millennium’, held at the Xth Congress of the International Society for Sport Psychology, Skiathos, Greece from May 28th to June 2nd 2001. The symposium, which was organised by the authors of this editorial, was intended to move forward the international research agenda on sexual harassment and abuse in sport and to examine professional practice issues for sport psychologists. It was clear from the attendance of over 60 delegates at that symposium that international interest in this subject is growing. Further evidence of this came from the attendance of 26 members states – from Azerbaijan to Sweden - at a Council of Europe seminar on The Protection of Children, Young People and Women in Sport, held in Helsinki in September 2001

Defining appropriateness in coach-athlete sexual relationships: The voice of coaches

The sporting culture, with omnipotent coaches, fierce competition for recognition and funding, and ‘win at all cost’ ethos, creates an environment conducive to sexual exploitation of athletes. Recent increased public awareness and the development of child protection policies in sport have led to the questioning of previously accepted coach-athlete relationships. This study is an exploratory investigation into male swimming coaches’ perceptions of appropriateness of coach-athlete sexual relationships. Sexual relationships with athletes under the age of 16 were unanimously considered totally inappropriate. With regard to sexual relationships with athletes above the age of consent for heterosexual sex, opinions ranged from “totally inappropriate” to “it’s a question of civil liberties.” These results are discussed in relation to how coaches have adapted their own behaviours in the face of public scrutiny but are still reluctant to restrict the rights of their fellow coaches