Three out of every four minors were victims of psychological or physical abuse during their sports practice, and boys would have a higher risk of suffering it than girls, according to a study in six European countries with 10,000 people published today.

The most common form of abuse is psychological, ranging

from lack of consideration by coaches to sheer humiliation

, states this European Union-funded study.

Almost two thirds of those surveyed declared having suffered psychological violence, while 44% were victims of physical violence.

For the main author of the report, sports sociologist

Mikel Hartill

of

Edge Hill University

(North West England),

the results show how "really little" European sports leaders have done to protect minors

, so In particular, they should do "much more than develop policies."

"Obviously, our findings are very worrying. In recent years we have seen some high-profile cases of child abuse in sport, but this study helps us better understand the breadth of the problem," Hartill said.

This work, developed in collaboration with the

University of Wuppertal

in Germany, focused on people between the ages of 18 and 30 who had played sports when they were minors.

The highest incidence of abuse was observed in those minors who had participated in international competitions.

The study highlights that the abuses occurred within the structure of the club and sports organizations.

In total, 10,302 people from six European countries:

Austria

,

Belgium

,

Germany

,

Romania

,

Spain

and

Great Britain

, responded to an online questionnaire to participate in this work.

The highest rate of abuse is observed in Belgium, with 80% of those surveyed, and in Austria, although it is somewhat lower, 70%. Austria is the only one of the six countries where abuse of girls would be more widespread than in children.

The authors of the report affirmed, in turn, that the data demonstrate the inability of numerous sports organizations to apply protection policies beyond the protocols against sexual violence.

"Unfortunately, the results speak of an industry doing very little to tackle deep-seated problems."

"This problem is very present in the nature of relationships between adults and minors in sport," he says.


According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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