Performance level and sexual harassment prevalence among female athletes in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The results presented in this article are from a larger research project on issues related to women in sport in the Czech Republic. The article tries to answer research questions related to whether there are any relationships between the experience of sexual harassment among female athletes inside and outside sport, and at different sport performance levels. The sample, totalling 595 women, was divided into three performance groups: elite, competing and exercisers. No significant differences were found between the different performance groups in relation to their experience of sexual harassment. When we their experiences inside and outside sport were examined this picture changed: the chance of being harassed from someone in sport increased with performance level, from 29.7% among the exercisers to 55.2% among the elite level athletes. The group with the highest proportion experiencing sexual harassment, however, was the exercises outside of sport, at 73%. The high prevalence of sexual harassment is discussed in relation to the gender order in the Czech society. The difference between the performance groups’ experiences inside and outside sport offer some confirmation to the proposition that being a competitive athlete, which is associated with physical strength and high self esteem, may offer a degree of protection from harassment outside sport.