Sexual Harassment or Just Coaching? Sport Students Making Sense of Possibly Sexualising Coach Behaviours
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Previous Research
1.2. Theoretical Lens
- What are the scripts sport students draw on in their sense making of grey area situations?
- How do they negotiate the relevance of various scripts?
2. Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Procedure
2.3. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Sexual Harassment Scripts vs. Sport Scripts
Male Student 2: I feel that physical touching, that depends. The way it comes across [in Film 1], it’s almost sexual, the way she went about stroking him. But if you do it in a different way, I think it is okay.Male Student 3: Like a pat on the shoulder. That is …Male Student 2: Yes, a pat on the butt, like ‘well done’. But [the stroking shown in the film], no … it doesn’t make sense… ‘Is your groin okay?’. Are you supposed to rub others down there? I don’t think that’s okay.(Interview 12)
Male Student 2: And he stands there, ready to run. What’s that? Suddenly, the coach comes and touches you, at the moment when you’re about to get going. If they approach each other to talk, then she can touch him, or [ask] ‘How is it going?’ when they stand in front of each other. But when he is bent over and ready to run, it’s a bit weird.(Interview 12)
Female Student 1: I think it is important to have that room for spontaneity [in the coach-athlete interaction]. That not everything has to be planned. I think it is important to establish a bond with people … But it’s maybe more about the body language in there, in the room, that he sits down so close, more than [the fact] that the athlete approaches the coach, in a way.Interviewer: You also found it a bit weird that he sat down close?Female Student 1: Yes, I found that a bit weird; everything else, I found a bit nice, really. I think it’s great that you care that much about the athlete. That is a very important coaching skill as well.(Interview 2)
3.2. Gendered Sexual Harassment Scripts
Male Student 3: Regarding the difference between men and women, there is no doubt about how it should be in practice, that it should be equal, but without doubt, there are prejudices in society—or not prejudices, [peoples’ viewpoints] are often based on experience—meaning that one is a bit more sceptical if a man does [something] than if a woman does [the same].(Interview 4)
Female Student 1: I think it would have been worse if it was the other way around. Simply because, generally, women will be ‘the weaker sex’. In a way, they will be in a vulnerable position. (…) But really, it is the same thing happening [when a female coach touches a male athlete].(Interview 1)
Male Student 1: If you, for example, put a boy together with many pretty girls, people perhaps think that, well, [the girls] can touch him and that is okay. If you had done that with men and put a girl there instead, then that would have been an entirely different thing. Then it is more like … what should you call it? You immediately feel that those men are abusers, in a way.(Interview 12)
Female Student 3: I think it is due to the situation one is in—that men have, in a way, the physically superior power. And that is what sexual abuse is about, really. So we probably still have some difficulties in our society accepting that women can be sexual abusers as well, generally.(Interview 16)
Male Student 2: I think that girls might have more focus on what is OK. ‘Is it OK that others touch me or do something to me or say something to me?’ While I, as a man, I have kind of not been informed as much about what is OK with regards to how others treat me because that has not been a problem. But, if it was to become a problem, I don’t know what I would do, whether I should tell someone if I did not think it was OK.(Interview 13)
4. Discussion
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
1 | Including the first three authors of this paper. |
2 | The percentages are based on information from a short questionnaire that 96 of the 112 respondents received. |
3 | In the few cases where indirectly identifiable information was revealed, it was anonymised during transcription. The transcribed interviews were slightly edited by removing some repetitions and ‘hmms’ to make the text more readable (Rapley 2001). Relatively lengthy passages of the transcripts are presented in the Results section to allow for an understanding of the collaborative production of meaning in the interviews, as recommended by Wibeck et al. (2007). |
4 | https://www.idrettsforbundet.no/tema/seksuell-trakassering-og-overgrep/filmer-til-opplaring/ (accessed on 26 August 2022). |
References
- Ahmed, Md Dilsad, Rudolph Leon van Niekerk, Walter King Yan Ho, Tony Morris, Thomas Baker, Babar Ali Khan, and Abe Tetso. 2018. Female Student Athletes’ Perceptions of Acceptability and the Occurrence of Sexual-Related Behaviour by Their Coaches in India. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice 42: 33–53. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Auweele, Yves Vanden, Joke Opdenacker, Tine Vertommen, Filip Boen, Leon Van Niekerk, Kristine De Martelaer, and Bert De Cuyper. 2008. Unwanted Sexual Experiences in Sport: Perceptions and Reported Prevalence among Flemish Female Student-Athletes. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology 6: 354–65. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bjørnseth, Ingunn, and Attila Szabo. 2018. Sexual Violence against Children in Sports and Exercise: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse 27: 365–85. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Brackenridge, Celia. 2001. Spoilsports. Understanding and Preventing Sexual Exploitation in Sport. London: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
- Brackenridge, Celia, and Daniel Rhind. 2014. Child Protection in Sport: Reflections on Thirty Years of Science and Activism. Social Sciences 3: 326–40. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke. 2006. Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3: 77–101. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Demers, Éliane, Geneviève Lessard, Sylvie Parent, and Hélène Paradis. 2021. Athlete Victims of Sexual Violence: Links to Conformity to the Sport Ethic. European Journal for Sport and Society, 1–17. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Fasting, Kari, and Trond Svela Sand. 2014. Forebygging av seksuell trakassering og overgrep i norsk idrett [Preventing Sexual Harassment and Abuse in Norwegian Sport]. In Kjønnsmakt i Idrett og Friluftsliv [Gendered Power in Sport and Outdoor Recreation]. Edited by Gerd von der Lippe and Hans Hognestad. Oslo: Novus Forlag, pp. 253–69. [Google Scholar]
- Fasting, Kari, Celia Brackenridge, and Jorunn Sundgot-Borgen. 2000. The Norwegian Women Project: Females, Elite Sports and Sexual Harassment. Oslo: The Norwegian Olympic Committee and Conferderation of Sport. [Google Scholar]
- Fasting, Kari, Celia Brackenridge, and Kristin Walseth. 2002. Consequences of Sexual Harassment in Sport for Female Athletes. Journal of Sexual Aggression 8: 37–48. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Fasting, Kari, Mari Kristin Sisjord, and Trond Svela Sand. 2017. Norwegian Elite-Level Coaches: Who Are They? Scandinavian Sport Studies Forum 8: 29–47. [Google Scholar]
- Fasting, Kari, Stiliani Chroni, and Nada Knorre. 2014. The Experiences of Sexual Harassment in Sport and Education among European Female Sports Science Students. Sport, Education and Society 19: 115–30. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Fasting, Kari, Trond Svela Sand, and Mari Kristin Sisjord. 2018. Coach–Athlete Sexual Relationships: Coaches’ Opinions. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching 13: 463–70. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Fejgin, Naomi, and Ronit Hanegby. 2001. Gender and Cultural Bias in Perceptions of Sexual Harassment in Sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 36: 459–78. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gavey, Nicola. 2018. Just Sex? The Cultural Scaffolding of Rape. London: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
- Hartill, Michael. 2009. The Sexual Abuse of Boys in Organized Male Sports. Men and Masculinities 12: 225–49. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Hartill, Michael. 2016. Sexual Abuse in Youth Sport: A Sociocultural Analysis. London: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
- Hartill, Michael, Bettina Rulofs, Melanie Lang, Tine Vertommen, Marc Allroggen, and Eva Cirera. 2021. CASES: General Report. The Prevalence and Characteristics of Interpersonal Violence against Children (IVAC) inside and outside Sport in six European Countries. Ormskirk: Edge Hill University. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Henry, Stephen G., and Michael. D. Fetters. 2012. Video Elicitation Interviews: A Qualitative Research Method for Investigating Physician-Patient Interactions. The Annals of Family Medicine 10: 118–25. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Hollway, Wendy. 1998. Gender Difference and the Production of Subjectivity. In Changing the Subject: Psychology, Social Regulation and Subjectivity. Edited by Julian Henriques, Wendy Hollway, Cathy Urwin, Couze Venn and Valerie Walkerdine. London: Routledge, pp. 227–63. [Google Scholar]
- Johansson, Susanne. 2017. Sexual Relationships between Athletes and Coaches: Love, Sexual Consent, and Abuse. Ph.D. thesis, GIH—Gymnastik och Idrottshøgskolan, Stockholm, Sweden. [Google Scholar]
- Johansson, Susanne. 2018. ‘Am I Sexually Abused?’ Consent in a Coach-Athlete Lesbian Relationship. Sport, Education and Society 23: 311–23. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Johansson, Susanne, and Carolina Lundqvist. 2017. Sexual Harassment and Abuse in Coach–Athlete Relationships in Sweden. European Journal for Sport and Society 14: 117–37. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Katz, Jennifer, Christine Merrilees, Jill C. Hoxmeier, and Marisa Motisi. 2017. White Female Bystanders’ Responses to a Black Woman at Risk for Incapacitated Sexual Assault. Psychology of Women Quarterly 41: 273–85. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Khan, Shasmus R., Jennifer S. Hirsch, Alexander Wambold, and Claude A. Mellins. 2018. ‘I Didn’t Want to Be “That Girl”’: The Social Risks of Labeling, Telling, and Reporting Sexual Assault. Sociological Science 5: 432–60. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Kitterød, Ragni Hege, and Marjan Nadim. 2020. Embracing Gender Equality: Gender-Role Attitudes among Second-Generation Immigrants in Norway. Demographic Research 42: 411–40. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Kwon, John, Sam Elliott, and Stefania Velardo. 2020. Exploring Perceptions about the Feasibility of Educational Video Resources as a Strategy to Support Parental Involvement in Youth Soccer. Psychology of Sport and Exercise 50: 101730. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lang, Melanie. 2015. Touchy subject: A Foucauldian Analysis of Coaches’ Perceptions of Adult-Child Touch in Youth Swimming. Sociology of Sport Journal 32: 4–21. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Morgan, David L. 1996. Focus Groups. Annual Review of Sociology 22: 129–52. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Mulder, Eva, and Stephanie Olsohn. 2021. Scripted Reality: How Observers Make Sense of a Non-consensual Sexual Encounter. Sex Roles 85: 39–56. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Nielsen, Jan Toftegaard. 2001. The Forbidden Zone: Intimacy, Sexual Relations and Misconduct in the Relationship between Coaches and Athletes. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 36: 165–82. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ohlert, Jeannine, Tine Vertommen, Bettina Rulofs, Thea Rau, and Marc Allroggen. 2021. Elite Athletes’ Experiences of Interpersonal Violence in Organized Sport in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. European Journal of Sport Science 21: 604–13. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Öhman, Marie, and Ann Quennerstedt. 2015. Questioning the no-touch discourse in physical education from a childrens’ rights perspective. Sport, Education and Society 22: 305–20. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Parent, Sylvie, and Kristine Fortier. 2018. Comprehensive Overview of the Problem of Violence Against Athletes in Sport. Journal of Sport and Social Issues 42: 227–46. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Parent, Sylvie, Francine Lavoie, Marie-Ève Thibodeau, Martine Hébert, and Martin Blais. 2016. Sexual Violence Experienced in the Sport Context by a Representative Sample of Quebec Adolescents. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 31: 2666–86. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Persson, Marlene. 2022. Playing without goals: Gendered practices in recreational youth football. Journal of Youth Studies, 1–16. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Piper, Heather, Deam Garratt, and Bill Taylor. 2013. Child abuse, child protection, and defensive “touch” in PE teaching and sports coaching. Sport, Education and Society 18: 583–98. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Powell, Anistasia. 2008. Amor fati?: Gender Hbitus and Young People’s Negotiation of (Hetero)sexual Consent. Journal of Sociology 44: 167–84. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Rapley, Timothy John. 2001. The Art(fulness) of Open-Ended Interviewing: Some Considerations on Analysing Interviews. Qualitative Research 1: 303–23. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Rhind, Daniel, and Frank Owusu-Sekyere. 2018. International Safeguards for Children in Sport: Developing and Embedding a Safeguarding Culture. London: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
- Schaillée, Hebe, Inge Derom, Oskar Solenes, Solveig Straume, Beth Burgess, Vanessa Jones, and Gillian Renfree. 2021. Gender inequality in sport: Perceptions and experiences of generation Z. Sport, Education and Society 26: 1011–25. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Simon, William, and John H. Gagnon. 1984. Sexual Scripts. Society 22: 53–60. Available online: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=10865794&site=ehost-live (accessed on 26 August 2022). [CrossRef]
- Simon, William, and John H. Gagnon. 2003. Sexual Scripts: Origins, Influences and Changes. Qualitative Sociology 26: 491–97. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Skilbrei, May-Len, Kari Stefansen, and Marie Heinskou. 2019. A Nordic Research Agenda on Rape. In Rape in the Nordic Countries: Continuity and Change. Edited by Marie Heinskou, May-Len Skilbrei and Kari Stefansen. London: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
- Smart, Carol. 1995. Law, Crime and Sexuality: Essays in Feminism. London: SAGE. [Google Scholar]
- Solstad, Gerd Marie. 2019a. Safe Sport for All? Exploring Safety and Safeguarding in Zambian Sport. Ph.D. thesis, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway. Available online: http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2589364 (accessed on 26 August 2022).
- Solstad, Gerd Marie. 2019b. Reporting abuse in sport: A question of power? European Journal for Sport and Society 16: 229–46. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Solstad, Gerd Marie, and Åse Strandbu. 2017. Faster, higher, stronger… safer? Safety concerns for young athletes in Zambia. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 54: 738–52. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Solstad, Gerd Marie, Kari Stefansen, and Åse Strandbu. 2021. An Eliasian analysis of students’ views on guidelines against sexual harassment and abuse in sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 57: 1078–94. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Stefansen, Kari, and Ingrid Smette. 2006. “Det var ikke en voldtekt, mer et overgrep...” Kvinners fortolkninger av seksuelle overgrepsopplevelser (It was not rape, more like abuse…» Womens interpretation of sexual abuse). Tidsskrift for Samfunnsforskning 47: 33–56. [Google Scholar]
- Stefansen, Kari, Gerd Marie Solstad, Åse Strandbu, and M. Hansen. 2019. Young Athletes’ Perceptions of Coach-Athlete Sexual Relationships: Engaging With Competing Ethics. Sociology of Sport Journal 36: 339–46. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Stefansen, Kari, Lars Roar Frøyland, and Carolina Overlien. 2021. Incapacitated sexual assault among youths: Beyond the perpetrator tactics framework. Journal of Youth Studies 24: 1373–87. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Vertommen, Tine, Nicolette Schipper-van Veldhoven, Kristien Wouters, Jarl K. Kampen, Celia H. Brackenridge, Daniel J. A. Rhind, Karel Neels, and Filip Van Den Eede. 2016. Interpersonal Violence against Children in Sport in the Netherlands and Belgium. Child Abuse & Neglect 51: 223–36. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Volkwein, Karin A. E., Frauke I. Schnell, Dennis Sherwood, and Anne Livezey. 1997. Sexual Harassment in Sport: Perceptions and Experiences of American Female Student-Athletes. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 32: 283–95. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Wibeck, Victoria, Madeleine Abrandt Dahlgren, and Gunilla Oberg. 2007. Learning in Focus Groups: An Analytical Dimension for Enhancing Focus Group Research. Qualitative Research 7: 249–67. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Wiederman, Michael. W. 2015. Sexual Script Theory: Past, Present, and Future. In Handbook of the Sociology of Sexuality. Edited by J. DeLamater and R. F. Plante. New York: Springer, pp. 7–22. [Google Scholar]
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. |
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Strandbu, Å.; Solstad, G.M.; Stefansen, K.; Sandvik, M.R. Sexual Harassment or Just Coaching? Sport Students Making Sense of Possibly Sexualising Coach Behaviours. Soc. Sci. 2022, 11, 543. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11120543
Strandbu Å, Solstad GM, Stefansen K, Sandvik MR. Sexual Harassment or Just Coaching? Sport Students Making Sense of Possibly Sexualising Coach Behaviours. Social Sciences. 2022; 11(12):543. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11120543
Chicago/Turabian StyleStrandbu, Åse, Gerd Marie Solstad, Kari Stefansen, and Morten Renslo Sandvik. 2022. "Sexual Harassment or Just Coaching? Sport Students Making Sense of Possibly Sexualising Coach Behaviours" Social Sciences 11, no. 12: 543. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11120543