Part 3 GLOBAL ISSUES: HARASSMENT AND ABUSE RESEARCH

automatically mean that he/she will become an abuser. The abuser has to set
aside his/her inner inhibitions (phase 2). For the abuser, feelings of inferiority
and disruptive sexual relationships play a part in both stages, as can
sociocultural indicators such as a lack of punitive measures within the sport.
Risk factors: the sport situation
By supervising and protecting the athlete the environment creates
external inhibitions for the abuser that have to be overcome (phase 3). The
erosion of social networks and lack of social support from the environment are
clear risk indicators, as is the internal culture of the sport.
Risk factors: the athlete
The last step of the sequential process is overcoming the resistance of
the child. The abuser will try to undermine the defensibility of the athlete.
Indicators are actions or events which cause the child to feel insecure,
helpless or abandoned. A weak social position and low self-esteem are
examples of indicators that increase the risk of abuse. A clear indicator is a
relationship of extreme dependence on a coach who, to a certain extent,
controls the life of the athlete.
Continuation and end of the abuse
The interviews gave additional information about the strategies of the
abusers and the process of the abuse at the point where the actual abuse
takes place and the phase following the end of the abuse. Sexual abuse may
continue for several years: for seven of the interviewees it went on for
between two and five years, without the athlete telling anybody about it or
ending it in another way. Not recognising abuse in the early stages, shame
and fear of the consequences are all important reasons why athletes keep
silent. In all cases the athletes had ended the abuse themselves, because the
power of the coach over them decreased, or because they became less
involved in the sport, left home or became involved in a different intimate
relationship.
Development of policy and policy instruments
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