The Women’s Sports Collective has released findings from a research piece looking into the experiences of women working in UK elite sport.
Lindsey Simpson led the research, with support from the University of Nottingham. The report makes for compelling reading.
Of 260 female respondents, 87% have been the target of at least one form of sexual harassment behaviour. 40% have experienced at least one form of sexual assault behaviour. The overwhelming majority (93%) said the perpetrators were ‘always’ or ‘mostly’ male.
Jokes with sexual content are the most common form of sexual misconduct, affecting 81% of respondents. The second most common form of misconduct is uninvited or inappropriate comments about the body (63%).
A Call to Action
Overall, just 38% of participants expressed positive sentiments about how governing bodies are dealing with the issue. The figure is slightly higher for employers (46%). Women who had experienced sexual misconduct were half as confident in their organisation’s ability to address the issues, compared to women who had not reported these adverse experiences.
Author and researcher Simpson notes that further research could explain the apparent gap between identifying incidents of sexual misconduct, and perceiving them as such. She also notes that the sector needs to take a more comprehensive approach to understand the issues. We all need to take bolder action to address what is happening.
So What Can We Do About This?
The summary report conclusion notes that we should share this report to help raise awareness and facilitate meaningful conversations.
So we are doing just that. Access the full report here.
From an Ann Craft Trust perspective, this report reminds us that, in sport and activity, EVERYONE’s welfare and wellbeing matters. This includes adults in a variety of roles, and this research included responses from elite athletes, coaches, administrators, lawyers, and physios among others.
The vast majority of the women cited in this research will not be covered by legal obligations under adult safeguarding legislation, including the Care Act 2014 and Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014. However, under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Worker Protection Act 2023, employers do have certain responsibilities for keeping their staff safe.
With this in mind, sport bodies themselves must take the responsibility to act.
As we always say, sport bodies must focus on safeguarding all adults, and not just “adults at risk”. This means you should not focus on specific legislation when you form your policies and procedures, craft your codes of conduct, or respond to a concern.
Unacceptable But Unsurprising
The experiences of women working in high performance sport in this research are unacceptable. But sadly, they don’t surprise me.
This report gives us some key data and also raises a number of questions that hopefully further research can build on. It is clear that there is a lack of confidence from the respondents that organisations have heard and are dealing with their concerns. This has to change. The perception that sport is not listening could only lead to further harm.
As Lindsey Simpson says in the report:
Of course, work-related sexual misconduct is not unique to sport, and my goal in sharing this research is not to damage it. On the contrary, this research aims to more accurately describe and frame the issues to inform and encourage realistic conversations that recognise the harms experienced across the entire workforce and help drive action that meets the problems head-on. It makes sense on a commercial, legal and human level, and doing so can amplify the unique ways in which sport is a force for good.