Elite athletes’ experiences of interpersonal violence in organized sport in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium

Abstract

Interpersonal violence in sport occurs in different forms, from emotional abuse, overtraining, bullying, physical aggression and pressuring to punishment and sexual abuse. Due to the use of different definitions, a comparison of prevalence estimates between studies in different countries has not been possible to date. The aim of the current study was thus to present the prevalence estimates of interpersonal violence in elite sport for the Netherlands, Belgium (Flanders), and Germany and to examine the overlap of three types of interpersonal violence. Data from two different surveys (one in the Netherlands and Flanders and another in Germany) of a total of 1,665 elite athletes (n = 533 from the Netherlands and Flanders, n = 1,132 from Germany) were used. Athletes were asked to answer questions about their experiences of psychological, physical, and sexual violence in the context of organized sport. In general, lifetime prevalence estimates for all three types of interpersonal violence are more than 24% in elite athletes, with the highest numbers for psychological violence. Compared to representative population samples the prevalence rate of psychological violence seems to be particularly high. Gender differences were only evident for sexual violence, with female athletes showing higher prevalence estimates than male athletes. Furthermore, a high overlap of experiences of the three different forms of interpersonal violence was found for all three countries. The differences in prevalence estimates between the three countries are discussed.

Understanding the Prevalence Rates of Interpersonal Violence Experienced by Young French-Speaking Swiss Athletes

“…In the present study, psychological violence was the most reported by the young athletes, which corresponds to the results of recent studies ( Peltola and Kivijärvi, 2017 ; Ohlert et al, 2020 ; Parent and Vaillancourt-Morel, 2020 ; Hauw et al, 2021 ). Also, in line with previous studies ( Alexander et al, 2011 ; Hauw et al, 2021 ), our results highlighted that the perpetrators of psychological and sexual violence in the sport context were mainly peers.…”

“…First, the conceptions of IV that researchers use vary, and therefore, their way of asking and organizing questions in each questionnaire will likewise vary. Although Peltola and Kivijärvi (2017 , p. 958) considered experiences of violence “[…] as broadly as possible, including both acts defined as crimes by the law and acts with more ambiguous legal status, such as bullying, harassment, emotional abuse and corporal punishment”, Vertommen et al (2016) , Hauw et al (2021) , Ohlert et al (2020) , and the present authors adopted the definition of violence as documented in article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child ( United Nations, 1989 ): “[…] all forms of physical or mental violence, injury and abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child.” Based on the WHO typology of violence to determine the four forms of IV (i.e., sexual, psychological, physical violence, and neglect; Krug, 2002 ), Parent and Vaillancourt-Morel (2020) used the VTAQ, which is based on the WHO definition of violence: “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development or deprivation” ( Krug, 2002 , p. 5). Similarly, Kerr et al (2019) considered questions about harm, maltreatment, and neglect.…”

“…In Belgium and Netherlands, 38% of the 4,043 young sport participants retrospectively surveyed by Vertommen et al (2016) reported at least one experience of psychological violence, 11% reported physical violence, and 14% reported sexual violence. Using the same survey (IViS; Vertommen et al, 2016 ) with elite sport participants in Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, Ohlert et al (2020) obtained different numbers: 72% reported psychological violence, 25% physical violence, and 30% sexual violence among the 1,665 elite athletes surveyed. Thus, in similar countries and using the same survey, psychological violence seems to be the most reported by former athletes, followed by physical violence and sexual violence, but the prevalence rates seem higher among former elite athletes.…”

Sexual Violence and the Coach–Athlete Relationship—a Scoping Review From Sport Sociological and Sport Psychological Perspectives

“…The term “sexual violence” is usually used as an umbrella term that includes a continuum of different behaviors, ranging from sexual harassment without body contact, to transgressive behaviors, to sexual violence with body contact. The common characteristics of these different forms are that the behaviors are based on sexuality and the abuse of power and have intimidating or even traumatizing effects on victims (Brackenridge, 2001 ; Ohlert et al, 2018 ). Sexual violence in sport may occur to children or adults; yet in the case of child sexual abuse the unequal power relation between perpetrator and victim becomes even more relevant.…”

“…Research on the prevalence and nature of sexual violence in elite and recreational sport has increased remarkably since the beginning of the twenty-first century. Celia Brackenridge's pioneering contributions in the mid-1990s (e.g., Brackenridge, 1994 , 1997 ; Brackenridge and Kirby, 1997 ) called for researchers around the globe to investigate this topic, with the aim to quantify the prevalence of interpersonal violence in sport, identify risk factors for its emergence, and develop and evaluate guidelines for improved safeguarding of athletes (e.g., Lang and Hartill, 2015 ; Rulofs, 2015 ; Vertommen et al, 2016 ; Hartill, 2017 ; Bjørnseth and Szabo, 2018 ; Ohlert et al, 2018 ; Rulofs et al, 2019b ). Studies investigating the causes of the emergence of sexual violence have pointed out specific conditions in the field of sport, such as unequal gender relations and the social structures of competitive sport.…”