Healthy Sport for Healthy Girls? The Role of Parents in Preventing Sexual Abuse in Sport1

Abstract

Sexual abuse has only recently been recognised as a problem within sport [Brackenridge, C. (1994) Fair play or fair game? Child sexual abuse in sport organisations, International Review of the Sociology of Sport, 29(3), pp. 287–299] and, as yet, little is known about the contexts in which girls might be at greater or lesser risk of experiencing such crimes. This paper explores the assumptions which parents mala about their daughters' health and safety in the sports coaching context in relation to Hellestedt's ‘Parental Involvement Continuum [Hellestedt, J. (1987) The coach/parent/athlete relationship, The Sport Psychologist, 1 pp. 151–160]. Data from a study of 93 sets of parents of elite young sportswomen are presented which show what much mothers and fathers know about their daughters' coaching setting. The results are used to evaluate the extent to which parents' assumptions about sport as a healthy place for healthy girls are warranted. Research on sexual abuse prevention in day care settings [Finkelhor, D. & Williams, L.M. (1988) Nursery Crimes: Sexual Abuse in Day Care (London, Sage)] is explored as a possible template for parents who wish to contribute to the prevention of sexual abuse of girls in sport. [1] This paper was first presented to a Symposium of the International Association of PE and Sport for Girls and Women at the Pre-Olympic Scientific Congress, Dallas, USA, July 1996.