In a week where 3.5million pages relating to Jeffrey Epstein were released, it is understandable a bombshell report into sexual safety for women working in sport didn’t hit the headlines. But I’d like to take a couple of minutes to talk about it, if you’ll allow me.
The reason is it reveals, with academic rigour, the ubiquity of sexual harassment visited on women working in elite sport in this country.
It is no secret sexual harassment is rife in sport. Public scandals over the past decade in particular have prompted huge reckonings, but despite the widespread nature of some of the abuses (such as in the National Women’s Soccer League in the United States) many of them are remembered as the work of single bad actors like Larry Nassar or Alberto Salazar.
The importance of this report ‘Women’s experiences of sexual misconduct working in UK elite sport’ is that it collates the testimony of 260 women with unconnected experiences. They are all adults and work in very different roles across the industry.
Respondents include TV producers, lawyers, physios and administrators. Also significant is its author Lindsey Simpson not only asked for feedback on the most egregious cases of assault, but also harassment – things like unwanted sexual advances and deliberate infringing of personal space. What she finds is the majority of women in elite sport are being forced to work in a sexually aggressive work environment without adequate support.
Of the respondents, 88% reported being the target of sexual misconduct in the last five years and 40% disclosed experiences of sexual assault. Collating information on the widespread nature of this problem is vital because its shows this is a systemic issue. And it doesn’t matter which part of elite sport you’re in.
Reading it I felt an overwhelming sense of tiredness. Because 12 years into my own career in the space, I’m not surprised. Sport is macho, TV is macho. Both have for so long been male spaces that women entering them have had to play by others’ rules. Things have gradually improved, and for a while it seemed the boundaries might be starkly redrawn – after the London 2012 Olympics and then again in 2020 when women found themselves unexpectedly in demand across the sports spectrum.
But people remain involved who will never believe women deserve an equal place in sport. Those people now find they have female colleagues, and they have to cover women’s sporting feats.
An easy way to disconcert and to silence those you’d rather weren’t there is with behaviours like those found in this research. But harassing 50% of the workforce helps no one.
As Lindsey told me: ‘Sexual misconduct takes a toll on all of society. It is in all our interests, and our gift, to take action in some form.
‘Safety and equity won’t happen by accident; we need more evidence and realistic conversations about what is happening in workplaces every day. And we need system-level action.’
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.
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She’s right, and with her work and the contributions from members of the Women’s Sport Collective she’s given all of us a powerful tool to recognise it’s not just the monsters and brutal outliers whose behaviour must change, but those indulging in quieter forms of abuse.
Sport is one of humanity’s best creations. For as long as we’ve been around, we’ve been trying to find out who can run faster, throw further or tussle with greatest efficacy.
Working in it is an absolute joy and a gift. As this research hints, nothing will stop women wanting to be a part of it. Acknowledging the challenge is one small progressive step we can make towards solving a massive problem. I know these few minutes we’ve spent together can barely address the challenge, but I’d love you to leave fired up that things still need to change.