An analysis of the prevalence and perception of sexual harassment among athletes in the Community of Madrid.

Abstract

Sexual violence against women in sport is one of today's major problems. In particular, sexual abuse and harassment have long been the main concerns of sports and social institutions, since they demonstrate the vulnerabilities that women still face in public spaces. For this reason, the prevention of such violence against women guides various prevention and intervention programs in childhood and adolescence. However, we find in youth a reduction of these programs, coinciding with a time of special vulnerability to suffer such sexual violence, especially in the case of female athletes.

There is still little research studying the incidence and, above all, the representative characteristics of sport that perpetuate this sexual violence against young female athletes. In fact, in our country we do not have official data on its prevalence, complaints, nor clear regulations regarding its prevention, intervention, and even sanctions. In other words, it is a problem that has not been addressed to date. Previous research has shown how this is one of the issues that favor the perpetuation of sexual abuse and harassment against young female athletes, hindering awareness and training in this regard. For all these reasons, a quantitative study is proposed below.