This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Sexual violence against minors in sports is a reality that goes largely unnoticed, despite data suggesting it is not an isolated phenomenon. According to a report by the GIKAFIT research group at EHU in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, 20% of participants had experienced behavior of a sexual nature from their coaches, including kissing on the lips, expressions of sexual interest and direct proposals for sexual relations.
"Despite these high rates, people are surprised when I tell them I am researching this topic because they think the abuse of minors does not happen in sports. It's a taboo subject that people try to sweep under the rug. Through our research, we aim to uncover the reality and make it visible so that it can be prevented," Sáenz says.
Her latest study, published in the European Journal for Sport and Society, examines athletes' perceptions and experiences. "We combined quantitative surveys of 292 athletes and six qualitative interviews with people who had experienced sexual violence in sports when they were school-age children and found a gray zone. That is, there are many everyday behaviors that the athletes do not perceive as abusive.
However, when a survivor of sexual violence reconstructs their experience, they identify these same behaviors as part of the process of abuse," Sáenz explains. Those who responded to the questionnaire were asked to assess whether 24 specific coach behaviors were related to sexual violence. More than 80% identified the more explicitly sexualized behaviors as sexual violence, such as proposing sexual relations in exchange for privileges, kissing on the lips or staring at an athlete's breasts or buttocks.
On the other hand, behaviors such as hugging, asking about leisure time, offering individual attention or creating opportunities for one-on-one contact were rarely classified as sexual violence. However, the testimonies showed that those who had experienced sexual violence retrospectively identified some of these less explicit, more normalized behaviors as part of the abuse. "Their narratives confirm that sexual violence does not necessarily start with obvious abuse, but with giving special attention or gifts or having personal conversations that, depending on the child's age, could even be perceived as something positive.
In the case of sexual violence, we have seen that this special treatment is part of a pattern," Sáenz explains. The EHU researcher clarifies that this does not mean all behaviors within this gray zone are abusive or criminal. What the study shows is that they can be part of a grooming process if they are repeated, personalized, linked to secrecy or embedded in unequal power relations.
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