Safeguarding of National Athletes: Strategies, Solutions and Processes

Document Type : Practical

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Sport Management, Sport Sciences Research Institute, Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor , Department of Sport Management, Shahid Behehsti University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Ph.D. Department of Sports Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

4 Ph.D. Department of Sport Management, University of Halabja, Halabja, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

5 Ph.D. Department of Sports Management, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.

10.30473/arsm.2024.67564.3762

Abstract

The aim of the current research was to identify the strategies, solutions and processes for the Safeguarding of national athletes. The present research method is qualitative research and in the form of thematic analysis, and the statistical population includes experts (officials of the National Olympic Committee, federation managers, academic researchers, media activists, athletes and coaches of national teams). The sampling method was purposeful and a semi-structured interview was conducted with 18 participants until theoretical saturation. Coding technique and NVivio software were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that athlete Safeguarding included 113 concepts in 22 sub-themes and three main themes of strategies including, institution-oriented and structural-oriented, society-oriented and participation-oriented, performance-oriented and quality-oriented, technology-oriented and knowledge-oriented; The solutions include institutional and legal, managerial and structural, executive and process, inter-organizational, attitudinal and behavioral, social and cultural, media and virtual space, services and performance, technical and specialized, technology and system, scientific and research and resources. Human and processes include policy and planning, implementation and support, monitoring and performance improvement, prevention of abuse, detection and control of abuse, compensation and support for victims. The current study is the first study conducted in the field of Safeguarding national athletes and has solved part of the huge gap in this field in domestic research. Also, it has provided a coherent view and a comprehensive list of strategies, solutions and processes for the Safeguarding of national athletes for macro and micro level organizations, policy makers and managers at all levels and athletes

Keywords


Boroujerdi, S. S., Mahmoudian, A., Saeedi, S., Ko, Y. J., & Khazaei, S. (2024). Athlete Brand Reputation: Developing a Conceptual Framework. Corporate Reputation Review. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41299-024-00208-z
Brackenridge, C. (2000). Harassment, sexual abuse, and safety of the female athlete. Clinics in sports medicine, 19(2), 187-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0278-5919(05)70198-8
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. Sage.‏
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.‏
ten Voorde, J. M. (Jeroen). (2024). De strafbaarstelling van seksuele intimidatie in het licht van rechtsbelangen. Boom Strafblad, 5(3), 189–197. https://doi.org/10.5553/bsb/266669012024005003008
Willson, E., Kerr, G., Stirling, A., & Buono, S. (2021). Prevalence of Maltreatment Among Canadian National Team Athletes. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(21–22), NP19857–NP19879. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211045096
Farahani,A FarjizadehP., Safania, Ghorbani Qahfarkhi L (1401) The role of social capital, knowledge management and innovation on the development of the sports capital goods market in Iran, scientific research journal of organizational behavior management studies in sports, 9th period, number, 36 Winter, 1401 pp: 47 https://doi.org/10.30473/fmss.1402.9845
 
Fortier, K., Parent, S., & Flynn, C. (2020). “You have 60 minutes to do what you can’t do in real life. You can be violent”: Young athletes’ perceptions of violence in sport. European Journal for Sport and Society, 17(2), 147–161. https://doi.org/10.1080/16138171.2020.1737422
Gibbs, G. R. (2007). Analytic quality and ethics. Analyzing qualitative data (pp. 90-104).‏
Hartill, Mike, Bettina Rulofs, Tine Vertommen, Rosa Diketmuller, Montserrat M. Horcajo, and Jan T. Stockel. 2019. VOICES FOR TRUTH AND DIGNITY: Combatting Sexual Violence in European Sport through the Voices of Those Affected. Available online: https://research.edgehill.ac.uk/ws/files/28806360/VOICE_Final_Report_kompr.pdf (accessed on 11 March 2022).
Hoang Van Thuan & Jaffar A. Al-Tawfiq & Gautret Philippe. (2020). The Tokyo Olympic Games and the Risk of COVID-19, Current Tropical Medicine Reports, 7(1), 126–132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40475-020-00217-y
John Dohsten, Natalie Barker-Ruchti & Eva-Carin Lindgren (2020) Caring as sustainable coaching in elite athletics: benefits and challenges, Sports Coaching Review, 9 (2):1, 48-70. https://doi.org/10.1080/21640629.2018.1558896
Kaufman, K. L., Lee, D. S., Milroy, J. J., Yore, J., Sitney, M., Lipman, A. & Raj, A. (2022). The role of theory in the prevention of sexual violence in sport. Journal of interpersonal violence, 37(13-14), NP10459-NP10511.‏ https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221095787
Kerr, G., & Stirling, A. (2019). Where is safeguarding in sport psychology research and practice?. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 31(4), 367-384. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2018.1559255
Kerr, G., Willson, E., & Stirling, A. (2019). Prevalence of maltreatment among current and former national team athletes. In Partnership with AthletesCAN., 1-51. Retrieved online on 22/11/2020.https://athletescan.com/sites/default/files/images/prevalence_of_maltreatment_report eng.pd f
Komaki, J. L., & Tuakli-Wosornu, Y. A. (2021). Using Carrots Not Sticks to Cultivate a Culture of Safeguarding in Sport. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3(4), 9-21. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.625410
Lamb, M., Kuhn, A. W., LaBotz, M., & Diamond, A. B. (2018). Safeguarding the child and adolescent athlete. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 17(12), 419-424. https://doi.org/10.1249/JSR.0000000000000538
Lang, M., & Hartill, M. (2015). Safeguarding, child protection and abuse and sport. International perspectives in research, policy and practice. New York: Routledge.
Mahmoudian, A., Sadeghi Boroujerdi, S., & J Baker, B. (2024). Identifying Threatening Factors for Team Identity of Football Fans (Case Study: the Esteghlal Football Club). Sport Management Studies16(83), 51-82.‏ https://doi.org/10.22089/smrj.2022.11702.3531 (In Persian)
Mahmoudian, A. , Sadeqi Broujerdi, S. and J Baker, B. (2023). Identifying the Factors Threatening the Team Identity of the Fans of the Iranian National Football Team. Sport Management Journal15(3), 250-232. https://doi.org/ 10.22059/jsm.2022.334547.2855
McCracken, G. D. (1988). The long interview. Sage.
Mountjoy, M., Vertommen, T., Burrows, K., & Greinig, S. (2019). #SafeSport: safeguarding initiatives at the Youth Olympic Games 2018. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(3), 176–182. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101461
Mountjoy, M., Brackenridge, C., Arrington, M., Blauwet, C., Carska-Sheppard, A., Fasting, K., Kirby, S., Leahy, T., Marks, S., Martin, K., & Starr, K. (2016). International Olympic Committee consensus statement: Harassment and abuse (non-accidental violence) in sport. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(17), 1019–1029. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096121
Mountjoy, M., Rhind, D., Tiivas, A., & Léglise, M. (2015). Safeguarding the child athlete in sport: a review, a framework and recommendations for the IOC youth athlete development model. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 49(2), 883-886. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-094619
Munro, E., & Parton, N. (2007). How far is England in the Process of Introducing A Mandatory Reporting System? Child Abuse Review, 16(4), 5016. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.973
Nazarov, A. M. (2020). Psychological Mechanism for Improvement of Psychological Protection Of Sportsmen. ISJ Theoretical & Applied Science, 81(01), 435-438. https://doi.org/10.15863/TAS.2020.01.81.76
Owusu-Sekyere, F., Rhind, D. J., & Hills, L. (2022). Safeguarding culture: towards a new approach to preventing child maltreatment in sport. Sport Management Review, 25(2), 300-322.‏ https://doi.org/10.1080/14413523.2021.1930951
Pankowiak, A., Woessner, M. N., Parent, S., Vertommen, T., Eime, R., Spaaij, R., & Parker, A. G. (2023). Psychological, physical, and sexual violence against children in Australian community sport: frequency, perpetrator, and victim characteristics. Journal of interpersonal violence, 38(3-4), 4338 4365.‏ https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221114155
Parent, S., & Fortier, K. (2017). Prevalence of interpersonal violence against athletes in the sport context. Current Opinion in Psychology, 16 (2), 165–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.05.012
Parent, S., & Vaillancourt-Morel, M.-P. (2020). Magnitude and risk factors for interpersonal violence experienced by Canadian teenagers in the sport  context. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 45(6), 528–544. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723520973571
Parent, S., Fortier, K., Vaillancourt-Morel, M.-P., Lessard, G., Goulet, C., Demers, G., Paradis, H., & Hartill, M. (2019). Development and initial factor validation of the Violence Toward Athletes Questionnaire (VTAQ) in a sample of young athletes. Loisir et Société/Society and Leisure, 42(3), 471–486. https://doi.org/10.1080/07053436.2019.1682262
Prewitt-White, T., & Fisher, L. A. (Eds.). (2022). Examining and Mitigating Sexual Misconduct in Sport. Routledge.‏
Qollami, H. , Sadeghi Boroujerdi, S. , Mahmoudian, A. and Kamanger, H. (2024). Identifying and Prioritizing the Functions of Instagram from the Point of View of Professional Female Athletes. Sport Management Journal16(4), 70-52. https://doi.org/ 10.22059/jsm.2023.350885.3053 (In Persian)
Rasekh, N., Jafari, S., Dastoom, S., Mahmoudian, A., & Karimi, N. (2023). Identifying and Explaining the Dimensions of Abuse in Sports (A Study of Iran's National Athletes). Human Resource Management in Sports10(2), 327-350. https://doi.org/10.22044/shm.2023.12867.2540 (In Persian)
Roberts, V., V. Sojo, and F. Grant. 2020. “Organisational Factors and Non-Accidental Violence in Sport: A Systematic Review.” Sport Management Review, 23(1), 8–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2019.03.001
Rossman, G. B., & Rallis, S. F. (2012). Learning in the field: An introduction to qualitative research (3rd ed.). Sage.
Sanderson, J., & Weathers, M. R. (2020). Snapchat and child sexual abuse in sport: Protecting child athletes in the social media age. Sport Management Review, 23(1), 81–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2019.04.006
Schipper-van Veldhoven, Nicolette, Tine Vertommen, and Lieke Vloet. 2015. (Sexual) Intimidation in Sports: The Netherlands. In Safeguarding, Child Protection and Abuse in Sport: International Perspectives in Research, Policy and Practice. Edited by Melanie Lang and Mike Hartill. London: Routledge.
Schipper-van Veldhoven, Nicolette. 2017. Factsheet Seksuele Intimidatie in de Sport. Arnhem: NOC*NSF.
Schmidt, R. E., Schneeberger, A. R., & Claussen, M. C. (2022). Interpersonal violence against athletes: What we know, what we need to know, and what we should do. Sports Psychiatry, 1(2), 78–84.‏ https://doi.org/10.1024/2674-0052/a000014
Scott, W. A. (1955). Reliability of content analysis: The case of nominal scale coding. Public Opinion Quarterly, 19(3), 321-325. https://doi.org/10.1086/266577
Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and Human Behavior. New York, NY: Macmillan.
Syahirah, S., Fathynah, S., Hamid, B. A., Ismail, H., & Puteh, F. (2021). Sexual Harassment Deterrent Mechanism to Safeguard the Well-Being of Sports Practitioners (No. gjbssr584). Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
Tuakli-Wosornu, Y. A., & MacLeod, J. G. (2021). Leveraging the adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) framework to strengthen safeguarding in youth sport. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 5(2), 94-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642%2820%2930343-6
U.S. Center for Safe Sport. (2021). 2020 athlete culture and climate survey.
 
Van Voorthuizen, M., Faber, I. R., van de Bongardt, D., & Schipper-van Veldhoven, N. (2022). A Qualitative Exploration of a Biopsychosocial Profile for Experiencing Sexual Harassment and Abuse in Sports. Social Sciences, 11(7), 309. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11070309
Vveinhardt, J., Fominiene, V. B., & Jeseviciute-Ufartiene, L. (2018, July). Bullying and harassment in sport: Overview of management instruments. In Proceedings of international academic conferences (No. 8209613). International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
Weston, M.A. (2017). Tackling Abuse in Sport Through Dispute System Design. University of St. Thomas law journal, 13(1), 434-458.