The Study
Young athletes can be susceptible to sexual harassment and abuse of power as accounts in the national media in recent years has clearly shown. But what is sexual harassment and abuse of power as it relates young athletes, and can anything be done to prevent them? Vern Seefeldt, emeritus professor in the Department of Kinesiology and former director of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, wrote this article in an effort to address these issues.

The Findings
Seefeldt points out that sexual harassment and abuse of power of young athletes can include a wide range of behaviors. They can include such things as inappropriate touching, fondling, genital exposure and exhibitionism, inappropriate kissing and hugging, sexual gestures, sexual or obscene language or jokes, displaying sexually explicit pictures or written material, forcible or statutory rape, sexual intercourse, oral sex, sexual assault, and commercial exploitation for purposes of pornography, pedophilia and incest. He then describes some of the characteristics of sexual harassment. In terms of sexual abuse in athletic settings, the abuser has authority over the victim either as administrator, coach, parent or teammate. "Many sexual abusers are respected members of the community and many have known their victims for an extended period of time Most sexual abusers of young boys and adolescent girls are adult males, many of whom hold prominent places of status within the community." In preventing harassment of this sort in athletics, Seefeldt says all agencies and organizations that sponsor or conduct competition for young athletes should have guidelines that address sexual harassment and the abuse of power by figures of authority. Among the things Seefeldt suggests sponsoring organizations should do are: define sexual harassment and exploitation as it pertains to the specific organization, develop a policy regarding sexual harassment and exploitation of athletes, inform and educate all coaches, supervisors and parents of the policies, establish procedures that inform victims or parents of victims of sexual harassment how to file a complaint, implement procedures for impartial investigations of complaints, and conduct periodic seminars for coaches, parents and athletes regarding the nontolerance of sexual harassment.

What It Means to You
In any youth athletic setting, there is the possibility of abuse. Do you have policies that incorporate all or some of the guidelines Seefeldt outlines?

More Information
Seefeldt, V. (1998). Understanding sexual harassment and the abuse of power in athletic settings. Spotlight on Youth Sports, 21(3), 1-2.

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