Psychological, physical, and sexual violence against children in Australian community sport : frequency, perpetrator, and victim characteristics
- Pankowiak, Aurelie, Woessner, Mary, Parent, Sylvie, Vertommen, Tine, Eime, Rochelle, Spaaij, Ramon, Harvey, Jack, Parker, Alexandra
- Authors: Pankowiak, Aurelie , Woessner, Mary , Parent, Sylvie , Vertommen, Tine , Eime, Rochelle , Spaaij, Ramon , Harvey, Jack , Parker, Alexandra
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Vol. 38, no. 3-4 (2023), p. 4338-4365
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Childhood sport participation is associated with physical, social, and mental health benefits, which are more likely to be realized if the sport environment is safe. However, our understanding of children’s experience of psychological, physical, and sexual violence in community sport in Australia is limited. The aims of this study were to provide preliminary evidence on the extent of experiences of violence during childhood participation in Australian community sport and to identify common perpetrators of and risk factors for violence. The Violence Towards Athletes Questionnaire (VTAQ) was administered online to a convenience sample of Australian adults (>18 years), retrospectively reporting experiences of violence during childhood community sport. Frequencies of experience of violence were calculated and Chi-square tests were conducted to determine differences between genders. In total, there were 886 respondents included in the analysis. Most survey respondents were women (63%) and about a third were men (35%). About 82% of respondents experienced violence in sport as a child. Psychological violence was most prevalent (76%), followed by physical (66%) and sexual (38%) violence. Peers perpetrated the highest rates of psychological violence (69%), and the rates of physical and psychological violence by coaches (both >50%) were also high. Age, sexual orientation, disability, and hours of weekly sport participation as a child were all associated with childhood experience of violence in sport. The rates of interpersonal violence against children in sport were high. This novel data on perpetrators of the violence and the risk factors for experiencing violence provides further context to inform safeguarding strategies in sport. A national prevalence study is recommended to advance our understanding of the childhood experiences of violence in Australian sport. © The Author(s) 2022.
- Authors: Pankowiak, Aurelie , Woessner, Mary , Parent, Sylvie , Vertommen, Tine , Eime, Rochelle , Spaaij, Ramon , Harvey, Jack , Parker, Alexandra
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Vol. 38, no. 3-4 (2023), p. 4338-4365
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Childhood sport participation is associated with physical, social, and mental health benefits, which are more likely to be realized if the sport environment is safe. However, our understanding of children’s experience of psychological, physical, and sexual violence in community sport in Australia is limited. The aims of this study were to provide preliminary evidence on the extent of experiences of violence during childhood participation in Australian community sport and to identify common perpetrators of and risk factors for violence. The Violence Towards Athletes Questionnaire (VTAQ) was administered online to a convenience sample of Australian adults (>18 years), retrospectively reporting experiences of violence during childhood community sport. Frequencies of experience of violence were calculated and Chi-square tests were conducted to determine differences between genders. In total, there were 886 respondents included in the analysis. Most survey respondents were women (63%) and about a third were men (35%). About 82% of respondents experienced violence in sport as a child. Psychological violence was most prevalent (76%), followed by physical (66%) and sexual (38%) violence. Peers perpetrated the highest rates of psychological violence (69%), and the rates of physical and psychological violence by coaches (both >50%) were also high. Age, sexual orientation, disability, and hours of weekly sport participation as a child were all associated with childhood experience of violence in sport. The rates of interpersonal violence against children in sport were high. This novel data on perpetrators of the violence and the risk factors for experiencing violence provides further context to inform safeguarding strategies in sport. A national prevalence study is recommended to advance our understanding of the childhood experiences of violence in Australian sport. © The Author(s) 2022.
Telling adults about it : children’s experience of disclosing interpersonal violence in community sport
- Woessner, Mary, Pankowiak, Aurelie, Kavanagh, Emma, Parent, Sylvie, Vertommen, Tine, Eime, Rochelle, Spaaij, Ramon, Harvey, Jack, Parker, Alexandra
- Authors: Woessner, Mary , Pankowiak, Aurelie , Kavanagh, Emma , Parent, Sylvie , Vertommen, Tine , Eime, Rochelle , Spaaij, Ramon , Harvey, Jack , Parker, Alexandra
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sport in Society Vol. 27, no. 5 (2024), p. 661-680
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: A challenge in safeguarding children from interpersonal violence (IV) in sport is the reliance on self-disclosures and a limited understanding of the frequency, barriers to and process of disclosures of IV. Through a mixed-methods design, combining survey and interviews, we explored the frequencies of childhood disclosures of experiences of IV in Australian community sport as well as who children disclosed to and how the interaction unfolded. Those who experienced peer violence disclosed at the highest frequency (35%), followed by coach (27%) or parent (13%) perpetrated IV. A parent/carer was most often the adult that the child disclosed to. Interviews highlighted how the normalisation of violence influenced all aspects of the disclosure and elements of stress buffering (normalising or rationalising) particularly underpinned the disclosure interaction. Policies and practices should explicitly identify all forms of IV in sport as prohibited conduct; education and intervention initiatives should target parents as first responders to disclosures. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
- Authors: Woessner, Mary , Pankowiak, Aurelie , Kavanagh, Emma , Parent, Sylvie , Vertommen, Tine , Eime, Rochelle , Spaaij, Ramon , Harvey, Jack , Parker, Alexandra
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sport in Society Vol. 27, no. 5 (2024), p. 661-680
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: A challenge in safeguarding children from interpersonal violence (IV) in sport is the reliance on self-disclosures and a limited understanding of the frequency, barriers to and process of disclosures of IV. Through a mixed-methods design, combining survey and interviews, we explored the frequencies of childhood disclosures of experiences of IV in Australian community sport as well as who children disclosed to and how the interaction unfolded. Those who experienced peer violence disclosed at the highest frequency (35%), followed by coach (27%) or parent (13%) perpetrated IV. A parent/carer was most often the adult that the child disclosed to. Interviews highlighted how the normalisation of violence influenced all aspects of the disclosure and elements of stress buffering (normalising or rationalising) particularly underpinned the disclosure interaction. Policies and practices should explicitly identify all forms of IV in sport as prohibited conduct; education and intervention initiatives should target parents as first responders to disclosures. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
- «
- ‹
- 1
- ›
- »