Experiences of Sexual Harassment and Abuse among Norwegian Elite Female Athletes and Nonathletes

Abstract

This paper compares the prevalence of sexual harassment and abuse among 660 Norwegian elite female athletes and an age-matched control sample of nonathletes. It also explores differences in the prevalence of harassment and abuse in sport and work or school settings and compares harassment and abuse perpetrated by male authority figures and peers in these different contexts. No differences were found between the athletes and controls in overall prevalence of sexual harassment or abuse. However, the athletes experienced significantly more harassment from male authority figures than did the controls. Based on these results, the article considers whether or not sport offers women any particular immunity from sexual harassment and abuse. The implications of the findings for structural and cultural change in sport are discussed.

Sexual Violence Experienced in the Sport Context by a Representative Sample of Quebec Adolescents

“…Indeed, while one study report a rate as low as 3% (Décamps et al, 2009), another reported a much higher rate of 52% (Fasting, Brackenridge, & Sundgot-Borgen, 2004). The study populations could explain these variations.…”

“…: Chroni & Fasting, 2009;Fasting et al, 2014;Vanden Auweele et al, 2008), while a few others also included male athletes (Alexander and al., 2011;Décamps et al, 2009). Décamps et al (2009) have shown that 3.4% of boys whereas 4.3% of girls were sexually harassed. This difference was non significant according to the authors, which suggests that boys may experience as much sexual harassment in sport as girls.…”

“…Yet we know that sexual violence experienced in sport may not only be perpetrated by coaches, but also by peer athletes or other adults working in this context, e.g. medical team (Alexander et al, 2011;Décamps et al, 2009). Moreover, we were unable to investigate the issue as a function of the coach's gender, which could have clarified the differences observed between boys and girls.…”

The Impact of Sexual Orientation on College Student Victimization: An Examination of Sexual Minority and Non-Sexual Minority Student Populations

“…Although not studied extensively, it has also been suggested that participation in sports may protect females from victimization in that it develops strength and self-esteem (Fasting, Brackenridge, & Sungot-Borgen, 2003). An often held assumption is that fraternity and sports membership are significant correlates for perpetrating sexually aggressive acts, largely due to hyper masculine beliefs, secrecy, and peer pressure (Boeringer, 1996;Martin & Hummer, 1989).…”

Coaching Behavior: Any Consequences for the Prevalence of Sexual Harassment?

“…Previous research has indicated that the experiences of sexual harassment can be associated with the masculine culture of sport, and should therefore be explained by more structural conditions like unbalanced power distribution [27]. This does not mean that all coaches are harassing coaches, yet studies that have explored the experiences of sexual harassment among female athletes indicate that the coach is often the perpetrator [28][29][30][31][32][33]. Furthermore, studies of the experiences of sexual harassment in sport settings have indicated that the perpetrator usually is a man [28,34].…”