Part 3 GLOBAL ISSUES: HARASSMENT AND ABUSE RESEARCH

management team. The chance of being harassed from someone inside sport
increased with performance level, from 33% among the exercisers to 55% among the
elite athletes. If we consider those who have harassed the athletes we find that inside
sport:
- 30% have experienced sexual harassment from another athlete,
- 27% from a coach, and
- 9% from one or more managers.
Further analysis of the different subgroups revealed that the highest percentage was
found among the elite level athletes who had been harassed by a coach (38%).
The type of harassing behaviour that the athletes had experienced the most in
sport was “Repeated unwanted sexually suggestive glances, comments, teasing and
jokes, about your body, your clothes, your private life etc”. (33%), followed by
“ridiculing of your sport performance and of you as an athlete because of your gender
or your sexuality (for example, ‘soccer is not suitable for girls’)” (21%), and “unwanted
physical contact, body contact (for example pinching, hugging, fondling, being kissed
against your will etc.)” (14%). As an example of this last category Simona told the
following story:
It happens quite often that people try to hug people, but with this particular
coach it is very clear that it was in a sexual context, so you have to be really
insistent to keep him away from yourself. I experienced it as unpleasant… It
mainly happens during the training where he uses opportunities like when
someone is coming to practice and he comes to hug and says I’m really glad
to see you. But during the hug he can move his hands on the body, which is
unpleasant.
As mentioned before, nine interviews were carried out with athletes who had
been harassed by their coaches. The average age of these was 24.6 years old. They
spent a lot of time in their sport because, in addition to competition, they practised an
average of 29.5 hours per week. 6 But, as has been shown in other studies, many of
their bad experiences had taken place when they were quite young. Though the
interview focussed on their experiences of sexual harassment, the analyses revealed
an abusive sport culture, which is illustrated by the following quotes from these young
women:
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