Exposing the ‘Olympic family’: a review of progress towards understanding risk factors for sexual victimisation in sport

Abstract

Sport organisations, including the Olympic movement, frequently invoke the concept of ‘family’ to describe their allegedly close and supportive social systems. However, the family metaphor backfires when sexual exploitation in sport is uncovered. Media coverage of high profile cases of sexual abuse against athletes by their coaches has prompted recent policy responses in the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands and Australia but, relative to clinical and therapeutic settings, academic research into sexual exploitation in sport is only in its infancy. This paper reviews the empirical and theoretical advances in sport-based sexual abuse research, contrasting these with ‘mainstream’ data and theories. It examines whether elite sport, as a surrogate family setting for the talented young athlete, might be a distinctive location for sexual exploitation.