SEXUAL
HARASSMENT AND ABUSE OF GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORT
According to The commission on the Status of Women in the United
Nations , the term “violence against women” means any
act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result
in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women,
including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation
of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life. Examples
mentioned are: Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring
within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual
harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions
and elsewhere (The Commission on the Status of Women in the United
Nations 200)1. The most comprehensive international policy statements
about gender-based violence have been the Declaration Against Violence
Against women, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1993, and the
Platform for Action from the UN fourth World Conference on Women
in Beijing in 1995. Both documents define gender-based violence
as a violation of women’s human rights and a form of discrimination
that prevents women from participating fully in society and fulfilling
their potentials as human beings (United Nations Development Fund
for Women 2000).
Context:
Awareness of sexual harassment and abuse grew during the 1980s and
1990s as a consequence of earlier initiatives for gender equity
and against gender discrimination. There is much anecdotal evidence
of physical, emotional and sexual abuses of females by male coaches
and peers in both Asian and African countries and research evidence
of the problem in even the world’s leading sporting countries.
In Australia, Norway and Canada, for example, high levels of harassment
have been reported in athlete surveys. Research knowledge on this
subject now underpins both harassment-free sport and child protection
policy initiatives which should have practical benefits for all
athletes, whether male or female.
Trust and authority:
Sport frequently involves close personal relationships, both among
groups of athletes and between individual athletes and their coaches
or leaders. The trust that develops between the athlete and leader
is often regarded as an essential part of training for success.
Leaders are most often (but not exclusively) male so the gender
order within sport is an exaggerated version of that found outside
sport, with males holding most of the positions of authority. Many
girls with female teachers in their early athletic years are passed
on to male coaches when they show talent and begin to climb the
sporting ladder. This often reinforces the view that only males
can be good leaders and that women should defer to the ‘superior’
knowledge and skill of men in sport. It also makes it even more
difficult for females to report men who harass or abuse them sexually
since they are often disbelieved or suffer recriminations.
There is also evidence of high levels of sexual bullying between
athletes, sometimes serious enough to cause an athlete to leave
her sport. It is easy for more powerful individuals, whether senior
male peers or coaches, to take advantage of those with less power,
using demeaning sexually harassing behaviour - such as sexist jokes
or unwanted touching – or in the most extreme cases abusing
them sexually, emotionally or physically. In the most serious cases
it is thought that the abuser is motivated by a desire to control
the athlete: he may thus use sex to achieve and maintain power,
rather than power to achieve sexual gratification.
Gender and sexuality:
Sexual exploitation affects both males and females athletes and
may be perpetrated by both adult authority figures and by athletes
themselves. Given the gender distribution in sport, and the over-representation
of males in coaching and other authority positions, it is much more
likely that perpetrators of sexual exploitation will be males. The
sexually abusive coach is frequently a kind of ‘father or
mother figure’ for the girl athlete, especially where her
parents or carers are either absent or show no interest in her sporting
progress. Homophobia is linked to sexually exploitative behaviour,
often where the perpetrator is himself uncertain about his sexual
identity and seeking to reinforce his own perceived boundaries between
the acceptable and unacceptable. Much of the sexual ridicule perpetrated
by male athletes and non-athletes against females in sport is thought
to be associated with uncertainties about sexuality and the challenges
that female athletes pose to traditional notions of femininity.
Sexual denigration in sport is also linked to the rigid sex divisions
(into male and female sports) that no longer apply to many other
areas of cultural consumption, such as dress.
Hazing:
Sexual exploitation can also occur in group settings where senior
athletes engage ‘rookies’ (newcomers) in bullying, physically
challenging or sexually explicit rituals as part of hazing or initiation
rites. Such rituals have been observed in some women’s sports
but are much more commonly associated with male sports, especially
traditional team sports. As women’s sports become more widespread
some have also begun to mimic the hazing and other practices characteristic
of traditional men’s sports in order to try to be accepted
by men in sport. Girls and women who lack confidence or who feel
anxious about their athletic identity may fall prey to such practices
much more easily than those for whom sporting status is part of
a self assured identity.
Resilience building through sport:
In addition to its health and fitness benefits, sport has long been
promoted as a medium for the development of self-confidence and
assertiveness. Physical fitness helps to develop self-confidence
and this, in turn, can assist with building an individual’s
capacity to resist sexually harassing behaviours. Self-confident
athletes with strong family support are less likely to exhibit the
vulnerability that marks out a potential victim of a sexual abuser.
Risk of sexual exploitation in sport:
In any sports club there will be a number of young athletes who
have suffered sexual abuse in their family. These individuals require
particular support and care in order to avoid them being targeted
a second time. Sports which involve early peaking i.e. where elite
level performance is reached in the lower teenage years, at or around
puberty, are thought to present more risk of sexual exploitation
to athletes than those sports with higher peaking ages, since this
time coincides with the transition from child to adult during which
sexual identity and maturity are achieved. At the club level, female
athletes may fall prey to their ‘sporting idols’ –
senior male or female athletes or coaches - in whom they may place
unqualified trust. At the elite level, girl athletes are often expected
to accept ‘adult’ responsibilities such as arranging
travel or foreign currency. Their athletic development or ‘sport
age’ is thus well in advance of their social and physical
development, which can create tensions and sexual uncertainty. It
should also be remembered that some athletes with disabilities are
less well equipped to defend themselves against sexual harassment
or assault because of difficulties with mobility or communication.
These athletes may therefore need particular protection.
Recommendations for minimising the risk
of sexual exploitation in sport
adopt harassment-free policies and procedures that are in line
with international ethical and human rights statutes and that
are inclusive;
encourage open debate about sexual harassment, homophobia and
exploitation of women and men in sport;
embed both an equitable balance of males and females in all
roles and also democratic leadership styles to mitigate against
abuses of power;
act as advocates of harassment-free sport through education
and training programs for every member of the sport;
actively monitor the effectiveness of all anti-harassment initiatives;
initiate research into men’s, women’s and children’s
experiences of abuse and bullying within their sport;
give active representation to athletes in decision-making at
every level of the sport.
