Part 3 GLOBAL ISSUES: HARASSMENT AND ABUSE RESEARCH

proposed a Stage of Imminent Achievement (SIA) as the period of peak
vulnerability to sexual abuse of young athletes. 20 Research is also being
conducted to address the role of programmes for prevention for sexual
harassment and abuse in sport in Canada, specifically in the Province of
Quebec, by first describing the international sport context of sexual
harassment and abuse and then considering the needs of disabled and gay
athletes. 21, 22 There is little to no data on sexual harassment and abuse that
focuses on the vulnerabilities of, or specific prevention measures for, disabled
or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered (LGBT) athletes. Such gaps in
the literature make it difficult to evaluate the full effectiveness of sexual
harassment and abuse intervention programs. There is a pressing need for
research and policy advocacy to ensure protection is offered to all athletes,
not just “mainstream” athletes.
In sum, the dangers of sexual predation for athletes in the sport world
are difficult to determine, within nations and internationally, when the
definitions chosen both determine, to some degree, relative frequencies of
various forms of abuse and also influence our understanding of the nature
and scope of the problem. 23 This is exacerbated by the need for sport
researchers to ‘make sense' of a variety of objectively defined sexually
abusive activities which are experienced by athletes in a subjective manner. 24
We still have to clarify key terms used to describe sexual harassment and
abuse across cultures and across sports.
Notes
1. Lenskyj, H.J., ‘Unsafe at home base: Women’s experiences of sexual harassment in
university sport and physical education’, Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 1992,
1, 1, pp. 19-34.
2. Holman, M., ‘Sexual harassment in athletics: Listening to the athletes for solutions’,
unpublished paper presented to the annual conference of North American Society for the
Sociology of Sport Conference, 1994.
3. Kirby, S.L., ‘Not in my back yard: Sexual harassment and abuse in sport’, Proceedings of
the Commonwealth Games Conference, Victoria, B.C., Canadian Woman Studies/Les
Cahiers de la Femme, 1994, 15, 4, pp. 58-62.
4. Kirby, S.L. ibid.
5. Brackenridge, C.H., ‘Problem? What problem? Thoughts on a professional code of practice
for coaches”, unpublished paper presented to the Annual Conference of the British
Association of National Coaches, Bristol, England, December, 1986.
6. Burton Nelson, M., Are We Winning Yet? How sports are changing women and women are
changing sports. New York, Random House, 1991.
7. Kirby, S.L. op cit.
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