Unapplied sporting protocols for addressing sexual misconduct: what's the issue?
Revamped Article:
Sadly, one-third of athletes experience sexual violence during their career according to the Institute of Women, with labor insecurity making women in sports more susceptible to such abuse.
We recently heard this alarming statistic at a sexual harassment in sports event organized by the Spanish Footballers Association (AFE) in May. This gathering in Madrid featured a slew of experts, one of whom was Aauri Bokesa. She began her speech by stressing the need to address and acknowledge situations of abuse, harassment, and mistreatment in sports.
Bokesa, an Olympic athlete, shared her own harrowing experience at 16 years old when she had to endure lewd comments from some of the men in her environment, such as "If I were 16, you wouldn't get away from me".
Marta Blanco, a sociology doctor, noted the widespread discomfort felt by many women in sports: "There are plenty of women who feel uneasy witnessing behaviors in teams that are repeated, even though they may not fully understand the discomfort. The result is that people accept normalized dynamics that are encouraged by institutional complacency without being confronted, addressed, or eliminated."
Do protocols make a difference?
To address these issues, protocols have been put in place, as confirmed by Maria Jose Lopez, AFE's political-institutional director, who stated that there should be a strong commitment for these protocols to be followed, and protection should be provided to the victim of harassment. However, she admits that reality often falls short: "The Sports Law mandates that all federations, professional leagues, and clubs integrate these harassment protocols through their Equality Plan, but that's not always the case."
Blanco echoes this sentiment, adding that "the protocols are not being implemented, and the few that exist tend to focus on elite sports and high-performance centers, while the majority of sports practiced in Spain take place in clubs and smaller to medium-sized organizations where protocols might not be present or used."
Rubiales Case
Regarding the Rubiales Case, Lopez highlighted that only the AFE filed a criminal complaint: "Nor the Royal Spanish Football Federation nor the Higher Council of Sports did so."
On the subject of reporting cases of harassment, Bokesa said: "When you're a minor and experiencing this, it's usually very challenging because fear and lack of understanding play a big role. So our main challenge is to make athletes understand that what they're undergoing is no longer about being harassed."
Enrichment Insights
Key Improvement Areas:
- Strengthening and expanding the scope of protocols to protect various vulnerable groups, Such as women, children, and the LGTBI community
- Implementing comprehensive policies with clear definitions of harassment, explicit reporting procedures, and robust response mechanisms
- Ensuring legal compliance with relevant regulations
Education and Awareness:
- Delivering mandatory training for staff, coaches, and volunteers to recognize, prevent, and respond to harassment and sexual violence
- Promoting environments that value mutual care and healthy relationships
- Conducting local workshops and awareness campaigns, especially in smaller clubs
Implementation Support:
- Making protocol-building resources easily accessible (e.g., templates, toolkits)
- Training local safeguarding leaders within clubs
- Engaging the athletic community in protocol development and oversight
Monitoring and Evaluation:
- Assessing protocol effectiveness through surveys, feedback sessions, and incident tracking
- Making improvements based on new evidence, legal changes, and community feedback.
By keeping these areas in mind, smaller sports clubs and entities can foster safer, more inclusive environments for all participants.
"Sociology doctor Marta Blanco emphasized the importance of implementing and enforcing comprehensive policies, stating that protocols should be expanded to protect not only athletes but also other vulnerable groups such as women, children, and the LGBTQ+ community. She also suggested delivering mandatory training for coaches and volunteers to ensure they can recognize, prevent, and respond to harassment and sexual violence within health-and-wellness and sports."
"In response to the Rubiales Case, Maja Jose Lopez, AFE's political-institutional director, mentioned that education and awareness are crucial in addressing such issues. She highlighted the need for continual reporting of cases of harassment, as this can help in the elimination of normalized dynamics and the promotion of a culture that values mutual care and healthy relationships in the realm of science and health-and-wellness, especially sexual health."
