Citation

Tuakli-Wosornu YA, Amick M, Guiora AN, Lowe SR. Br. J. Sports Med. 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/bjsports-2021-104715

PMID

34610913

Abstract

Sport is commonly positioned as an antidote to adverse childhood experiences, including neglect and psychological, physical and sexual abuse.1 However, a growing number of well-publicised cases firmly establish athlete abuse1 as a significant threat to modern sport.2 Entrenched and pervasive, all forms of abuse can have severe consequences, both for athletes who are directly victimised and their sports organisations.2 But there may be stakeholders for whom the effects of abuse are less obvious: observers of abuse and the athletic community as a whole. It is important that the sports and exercise medicine (SEM) community conceptualise athlete abuse as community trauma; while these events occur in close interpersonal contexts, their impacts span beyond individuals to the entire sports community. Not only do the effects of abuse manifest in individuals' health and well-being, but they also influence relational health among community members, team performance and institutional climate. Therefore, SEM must prioritise primary prevention in data-driven models of athlete abuse management. Not accounting for observer harm risks underestimation of the true toll abuse takes on all stakeholders in sports communities--and on sport itself.

Vicarious and secondary trauma in society and in sport

Vicarious traumatisation (VT) and secondary traumatic stress (STS) are terms that describe the …

Language: en

Keywords

athletes; sports; violence; psychology