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The ten-year coaching ban handed down this week by Athletics New Zealand to national pole vault coach Jeremy McColl is merely the latest in a long line of investigations to reveal the failure of sports organisations to protect sportswomen.
The independent investigation (opens in a new tab) into McColl found “serious misconduct” over a “number of years” with women athletes under his supervision. This included harassment, “inappropriate sexual references” (including through social media and texting) and poor response to injuries.
The case is both unique and sadly familiar. At least 12 New Zealand sports bodies have come under scrutiny in recent times for cultures where sportswomen experienced abuse. These include Cycling New Zealand (opens in a new tab), Rugby New Zealand (opens in a new tab), Gymnastics New Zealand (opens in a new tab), Canoe Racing New Zealand (opens in a new tab), NZ Football (opens in a new tab) and Hockey New Zealand (opens in a new tab).
This surely suggests there has been – and likely still is – systemic gendered abuse across New Zealand’s sport system. Urgent action is clearly needed.
High rates of abuse
Maltreatment (opens in a new tab) and interpersonal violence (opens in a new tab) – including neglect and physical, psychological and sexual violence – are common at all levels of sport for women, men and children (opens in a new tab).
One study (opens in a new tab) of 1,665 elite athletes in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium found extremely high rates of reported physical violence (25%), sexual violence (31%) and psychological or emotional violence (72%).
Sportswomen were found to experience abuse more than men, particularly sexual violence. An Australian study (opens in a new tab) found 82% of 886 people surveyed had experienced some form of interpersonal violence in sport as a child. Rates were higher among girls and gender-diverse individuals.
Over the past three decades, researchers have examined various forms of gender-based (opens in a new tab) and sexual violence in sport (opens in a new tab), usually perpetrated by male coaches (opens in a new tab), but also by others (opens in a new tab) in the wider “support” teams.
The coach-athlete relationship (opens in a new tab) inevitably involves an uneven balance of power. Abuse of that imbalance leads to significant harm and negative health impacts (opens in a new tab), with women athletes often reluctant to report the abuse (opens in a new tab). Some simply withdraw from sport (opens in a new tab) altogether.
A global problem
These abusive relationships tend to exist within (opens in a new tab) hierarchical, patriarchal and “win at all costs” sporting cultures. Organisational structures and systems often work to enable harmful practices (opens in a new tab).
But research shows (opens in a new tab) gender-based violence is also increasingly happening online. And it is not only women athletes who experience it, but also women in other roles (opens in a new tab), such as officials, administrators and volunteers.
None of this is specific to New Zealand. Investigations have revealed gender-based violence across a range of sports internationally (opens in a new tab), where systems consistently fail to protect and support women.
Furthermore, it remains a significant blind spot (opens in a new tab) for many sports organisations and professionals. Legal liability and protecting the sport rather than the athlete become priorities. Change can be sluggish, often lacking transparency and accountability (opens in a new tab).
Slow progress
The better news is that some governments and international sports organisations are developing safeguarding policies, procedures and toolkits.
An EU-led initiative has produced a good practice guide (opens in a new tab) for sports bodies wanting to support athletes affected by sexual violence. And earlier this week, UNESCO published a handbook (opens in a new tab) offering practical ways to address violence against women and girls in sport.
The International Olympic Committee also offers a “toolkit (opens in a new tab)” to help national Olympic committees and international sports federations develop better policies and procedures. Various other organisations (opens in a new tab) are working towards the same goals.
Despite such initiatives, many sports organisations still struggle to respond appropriately (opens in a new tab). In particular, it is vital that athletes themselves are involved (opens in a new tab) in developing safeguarding policies.
Researchers (opens in a new tab) and health professionals are increasingly calling for initiatives that centre the athlete and integrate holistic knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures and practices. We also cannot ignore the ways race, ethnicity, disability, gender identities and sexuality may amplify (opens in a new tab) the risks and harms of abuse in sport.
Change has to be urgent
Meaningful change will require education (opens in a new tab) for all those working in sport, athlete-centred policy and practice, and safe reporting pathways. Redress has to prioritise the needs of the abused.
Because women can be so reluctant to report abuse in the first place, it has been suggested a “carrot not stick (opens in a new tab)” approach might work best. Teams and organisations that can show evidence of a positive, safe and healthy culture might be rewarded in future funding cycles, for example.
To that end, High Performance Sport New Zealand has launched a NZ$273 million strategy (opens in a new tab) that includes prioritising athlete wellbeing. Yet it still doesn’t address the gender dynamics at play here.
Education programmes aimed at coaches and support staff working with women should be mandatory. Sportswomen must be able to report any concerns without fear for their careers or wellbeing. And anyone who observes questionable behaviour must have appropriate channels to report their concerns.
Minister of Sport Grant Robertson announced an independent Sport Integrity Working Group (opens in a new tab) last year. So far, though, we’ve seen no actions or stated commitment to safeguarding women.
Everyone deserves access to a safe sporting environment, and safeguarding women in sport is an urgent issue. We can’t sit back and wait for the next headline about another national sports organisation or another male coach under investigation. The time for change is now.
Holly Thorpe (opens in a new tab), Professor in Sociology of Sport and Gender, University of Waikato (opens in a new tab) and Kirsty Forsdike (opens in a new tab), Senior Lecturer, La Trobe Business School, and Senior Researcher, Centre for Sport & Social Impact, La Trobe University (opens in a new tab)
This article is republished from The Conversation (opens in a new tab) under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article (opens in a new tab).
