Narratives of sexual harassment experiences in sport

Abstract

The occurrence of sexual harassment in sport was first revealed in studies in the mid-nineties, and during the last 10–15 years there has been an increasing focus on this problem both from scholars and from sport politicians. Most of the studies on sexual harassment in sport have been prevalence studies, but there is a marked variety of approaches to the subject both theoretical and methodological. Studies have shown that coaches often are the perpetrators and qualitative studies have documented risk factors as well as the athletes’ responses and coping mechanisms. However, very few studies so far have described with the athletes own words their experiences. Furthermore, there has also often been a lack of explanation for why such behaviours occur. Hence, the aim of this article was to present two Norwegian athletes’ narratives of their sexual harassment experiences from their coaches. This is followed by a discussion which incorporates different models that try to explain why sexual harassment occurs. All models seem in one way or another to focus on power as an important factor in understanding the occurrence of sexual harassment, and the two female athletes’ narratives are discussed in relation to the power relations that exist in sport both at the individual and at the organisational level. The article concludes with the importance of developing policies, including ethical guidelines and educational materials for coaches as well as for athletes to create safer sport.