Part 3 GLOBAL ISSUES: HARASSMENT AND ABUSE RESEARCH

more likely to be harassed and/or abused and it was mostly males who were
perpetrators. The reports were extremely disturbing, revealing patterns of
systematic sexual harassment and abuse of athletes, often by authority
figures in sport.
Although sexual harassment and abuse was often regarded as an
issue for girls and women, the study also revealed a concern amongst boys
and men. The harasser is most often male, the victim most often female.
However, there was also evidence of harassment by a member of the same
sex, or of a female harassing a male. The types of harassment and abuse that
athletes experienced were varied, including put-downs and insults, sexually
suggestive comments, being made afraid (of losing a place on the team, of
being identified as of sexual interest, and of having to give sexual access to
another). Perhaps the most disturbing finding was that 21.8% of athletes
reported having had sexual intercourse with a person in a position of authority
over them in sport. Not surprising was that most authority figures were older
than the athletes, but 8% of these older people were more than 20 years older
than the athlete in question. On this point, we must underline the all-important
issue of consent, i.e. it is not consent if an athlete agrees to sexual activity
with someone who is in authority over them. Indeed, the Canadian Code of
Ethics for Coaches prohibits such activity until the person in authority has
been out of that sphere of influence over the athlete for a substantial period of
time.
Athletes reported other unwanted sexual experiences in sport, such as
those behaviors which occurred in a poisoned or ‘chilly climate’ of sport.
These included: coaches’ and other athletes’ use of profanity or trash talk;
constant attention being paid to one’s physical, social or sexual attributes;
and/or a homonegative environment for gays and lesbians. Additionally, there
were athletes who reported receiving obscene phone calls (4.1% of athletes;
to younger athletes p.