‘Knowing we have these rights does not always mean we feel free to use them’: athletes’ perceptions of their human rights in sport

Abstract

ObjectivesModern sport safeguarding strategies include published global rights declarations that enshrine athletes’ entitlements at the policy level. It is unclear how these documents translate to athletes’ lived experiences. The study aimed to determine athletes’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about their human rights in sports settings.SettingWeb-based survey.Participants1159 athletes from 70 countries completed a validated web-based survey. Over half of participants (60.1%) were between 18 and 29 years, currently competing (67.1%), not members of players’ unions (54.6%), elite (60.0%) and participating in individual (55.8%) non-contact (75.6%) Olympic (77.9%) sports. Gender distribution was equal.Primary and secondary outcome measuresParticipant demographics (eg, gender, age) and athletes’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about their human rights in sports settings.ResultsMost (78.5%) were unaware of any athletes’ rights declarations. Gender influenced participants’ confidence in acting on their rights in sport significantly. Males were more likely to accept pressure from coaches and teammates than females, but age affected how likely males were to accept this pressure. Paralympic athletes were less likely to agree that violence is acceptable in sports, compared with Olympic. Player union membership increased confidence in freely expressing one’s opinion in sports settings. Athletes’ rights-related awareness, knowledge and beliefs were disconnected.ConclusionsAwareness raising is not enough to prevent human rights violations in sports. The cultural climate of the entire ecosystem must be targeted, using systems-level strategies to shift stakeholders’ biases, beliefs and behaviours. This approach takes the onus of addressing abuse off athletes’ shoulders and places accountability on sports organisations.

The journey to reporting child protection violations in sport: Stakeholder perspectives

“…However, when we asked those responsible for implementing a broad continuum of rights and responsibilities in relation to the care of a child, we found little if any indication that they knew about sport or that sport was contributing the rights-based discussions. Consistent with trauma-informed work outside of sport, one additional dimension our qualitative data added was the critical importance of “readiness,” when establishing safe sport environments–it is insufficient to start at “recognize” ( Menschner and Maul, 2016 ; Tuakli-Wosornu et al 2022a , b ).…”

“…Second, the importance of bringing athletes’ and survivors’ voices to the forefront of safeguarding work cannot be overstated ( Guiora, 2020 ; Tuakli-Wosornu et al, 2022b ; Bekker and Posbergh, 2022 ; Lang, 2022 ). This is especially important when athletes identify as having an intellectual, physical, or other type of impairment, as being part of the LGBTQ+ community, being racialized/minoritized, and/or being a child or youth ( Kirby et al, 2008 ; Mountjoy et al, 2016 ; Tuakli-Wosornu et al, 2020 ; Hartill et al, 2021 ; Rhind et al, 2021 ; Bekker and Posbergh, 2022 ).…”

“…), the victim’s gender ( Briere and Conte, 1993 ; Hartill et al, 2021 ), and children’s awareness of their agency ( Rhind et al, 2021 ). Project CARE found that 69% of adult athletes surveyed were not always aware they had any ‘rights’ when they were children in sports, and Tuakli-Wosornu found in 2022 that athletes’ confidence in their rights-related agency and autonomy is both low in sport settings, and strongly influenced by gender ( Tuakli-Wosornu et al, 2022b ).…”

Promoting safe and enjoyable sporting experiences for children in Wales

“…Specifically, Article 19 of the UNCRC states that "children (under 18 years of age) have a right to be protected from all forms of maltreatment, abuse, and violence" (Article 19, UNCRC, 1989). Therefore, all forms of maltreatment including bullying and emotional abuse in sport constitute a breach of young people's human rights (Tuakli-Wosornu et al, 2022).…”