Sexual Violence in Sports

Sports- “An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment”

Simply put, athletes train, athletes compete, athletes improve and fans and sports enthusiasts get entertained.

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Unfortunately, that's not where it ends in the sports industry for women and young girls. Research shows us that sexual harassment occurs in all sports and at all levels, including child and youth sports, college and university athletes, and elite athletes. While exact prevalence rates of SHA (sexual harassment, sexual abuse, gender harassment, hazing, and homophobia) in sport have not been systematically determined, there is an estimate of 48% of SHA prevalent.

While SHA occurs in all levels of sport, prevalence of SHA does appear to be higher in elite sport as the higher the athlete is on the sporting talent ladder, the greater the risks of being sexually exploited. In addition, sports where there is early specialisation may also present greater risks of sexual exploitation, especially in sports where intensive talent identification happens around puberty. SHA commencing during the ‘stage of imminent achievement’ in sport is posited to occur as athletes have an increased dependence on their coach as they reach their performance goals.

Once athletes get sexually abused or harassed, they may experience headaches, lethargy, weight fluctuations, sleep disturbances, in some cases even self harm, denial, lack of trust and change in the behaviour of the athletes. A group of Irish researchests conducted a meta-analysis of the literature on the long-term physical health consequences of childhood sexual abuse. They found people who had experienced sexual abuse have poorer health outcomes in the following areas: general health, gastrointestinal health, gynaecological or reproductive health, pain, cardiopulmonary symptoms and obesity. In the hazing that is sometimes seen in sports, there can also be extreme physical consequences, such as alcohol poisoning and even death.

The process in which SHA may occur in sports follows-up this way:

1. Targeting the victim - A vulnerable athlete who is comparatively isolated from the team becomes an easy victim.

   
   

2. Building trust and friendship - Through this friendship the coach builds a more trusting relationship by making the athlete feel special by the giving of rewards or gifts. With the provision of these rewards, the coach can later say, ‘you have to do this (sexual activity), because of I have (given you this reward)…’ These rewards can also serve to increase an athlete's feelings of cooperation with the coach.

   
   

3. Developing control and loyalty - The perpetrator may then develop further control and loyalty often through refusing the athlete access to significant others, friends and supporters. This may include restricting access to the athlete's parents as a way of checking the athlete's commitment. For example, in qualitative interviews with athletes who had experienced sexual abuse, the athletes spoke how developing a strong sense of dependence on the coach lead to increased cooperation with the coaches' sexual behaviours.

   
   

4. Building and securing secrecy - After the abuse has begun, the coach may continue to build and secure secrecy by ensuring the consequences of the sexual boundaries. The coach may use statements such as ‘you owe me’ or ‘it is our little secret.’ In other scenarios, the perpetrator may use the example of hurting the victim or loved ones around the victim to keep the “in-check”.

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Over the past couple of years, there has been a visible increase in the number of sexual assault cases on the sports field inflicted by coaches, medical personnel etc. Majority of the times, these cases don't come to the limelight and are covered up in order to protect the image of the team. Not only do women in sports face physical or verbal sexual harassment, but they are also made to “look appealing” and “look feminine” while playing. This occurs due to sexualized uniforms which include overly tight and cropped skorts, skirts, and spandex shorts. In some cases like volleyball matches, females are forced to wear overly cropped and inappropriate bikini bottoms, placing athletes in awkward positions during the play. This could include cat-calling during matches and objective remarks.

In 2021, the Norwegian national team appealed to the beach handball governing body, the European Handball Federation (EHF), asking to wear less revealing clothing. The requirements established by the governing body require women players to wear bikini bottoms. They swapped out the bikini bottoms for bike shorts and the EHF fined the team 1,500 euros ($2487.74 AUD) for wearing “improper clothing”, claiming the shorts were “not according to the Athlete Uniform Regulations defined in the IHF Beach Handball Rules of the Game”.

In 2019, the third season of the AFLW. Tayla Harris was at the peak of her game, and the most incredible photo of her kicking the footy went viral. It highlighted her athleticism, power and skill, representative of just how strong the women’s game was becoming. But the photo was also met with vile, sexist attacks online. Some trolls online even edited the image to make Harris appear half naked. Harris’ body was sexualised to take away from her strength in her sport.

These are just a few examples of women being sexualized in sports. However, there is some amount of progress that has been made in India itself. A female cyclist accused the national team head coach RK Sharma of sexually inappropriate behaviour during a training-cum-competition trip to Slovenia. Days after the initial complaint, three more cyclists alleged that Sharma had harassed and threatened them for years. The Sports Authority of India terminated Sharma's contract and launched an investigation.

We still have a long way to go, and alot of progress to make. Together, we can change the narrative of women in sports.

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By Writer Sanah Ramchandani and Researcher Mihika Gupta