The beginning of April brings collectively two seemingly disparate occasions: the conclusion of the NCAA basketball tournaments and the start of Sexual Assault Consciousness Month. One celebrates excellence in sport, and the opposite calls consideration to the truth that sexual violence is widespread and has broad affect all through the nation. How are they related?
The common particular person doesn’t observe the information concerning sexual or home violence and usually observes splashy information tales involving a star with passing curiosity. Seemingly frequently, athletes and coaches make headlines for home or sexual violence allegations and arrests. Right here in Florida, the Gators head males’s basketball coach, Todd Golden, and assistant coach and former Gators star, Taurean Inexperienced, have each been investigated for Title IX violations, with Golden accused of sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, stalking and cyberstalking and Inexperienced of sexual assault.
Whereas there’s typically information protection across the allegations and arrests, there’s restricted protection on the outcomes, which are sometimes plea agreements to lesser violent crimes, case dismissals, and confidential settlements. We frequently hear this query: the place are the implications for high-profile athletes and coaches accused of sexual misconduct and violence? Whereas there aren’t any easy solutions, what we do know is that sexual violence is a pervasive societal downside and that our present system struggles to assist victims or maintain perpetrators accountable.
Based on the Sufferer Service Middle of Central Florida, a person is sexually assaulted each 92 seconds in america. Roughly one in 5 ladies and 1 in 33 males would be the sufferer of rape of their lifetime. Three out of each 4 sexual assaults will go unreported.
The Title IX investigation into Golden was closed as a consequence of inadequate proof. Not shocking since lower than 4% of reported rapes, sexual assaults, and little one intercourse abuse allegations in america end in a conviction. Inexperienced’s case remains to be below investigation. That is the place sport displays society.
We all know that sports activities have an outsized affect on tradition. As an alternative of athletes and coaches as perpetrators of sexual violence, we assist equip these inside sport with the talents to be a part of the answer. For the previous 40 years, the Institute for Sport and Social Justice has been a frontrunner in coaching and training with highschool, collegiate, {and professional} sports activities groups on matters round sexual respect, wholesome vs. abusive relationships, sexual harassment, and extra. We now have discovered that female and male sports activities leaders who acknowledge their energy and affect can create safer communities, beginning in their very own locker rooms.
When instances contain high-profile leaders in sports activities, accusers are sometimes shamed and focused. As an alternative of selecting sides, our society ought to work to know why there are over 460,000 sexual assaults within the U.S. annually and take into account what we are able to do to stop it.
Jeffrey O’Brien is the CEO for Institute for Sport and Social Justice, a nonprofit that companions with sport organizations to coach and empower athletes, coaches, and workers on wholesome relationships, sexual consent, gender-based violence prevention, the complete vary of range, fairness, inclusion and belonging points, and management improvement.
