Organisational factors and non-accidental violence in sport: A systematic review

Highlights

•	Organisational tolerance for abuse enabled psychological, physical and sexual abuse of athletes.
•	Conformity to dominant values within sport motivated psychological, physical and sexual abuse of athletes.
•	Power imbalance enabled psychological and sexual abuse and isolation enabled sexual abuse of athletes.
•	Perceived instrumental effects motivated psychological and physical abuse. Winner-take-all rewards motivated physical abuse.
•	We recommend a whole-of-system approach to the prevention and management of non-accidental violence in sport.

Abstract

The objective of the current systematic review was to investigate the organisational factors that enable and motivate non-accidental violence towards athletes in the sport context. The authors identified and reviewed 43 qualitative studies investigating psychological, physical, and sexual abuse of athletes, and developed a framework of organisational factors (i.e., structural, social, and stress factors) related to non-accidental violence. Athletes were the key informants, yet some studies included athletes’ entourages. The authors independently coded the findings sections of the primary research, using the developed framework. Organisational tolerance for abuse and conformity to dominant values within sports were related to all three types of non-accidental violence. Power imbalance appeared as a relevant factor in both psychological and sexual abuse, while isolation was also relevant in sexual abuse. Believing that non-accidental violence had instrumental effects appeared related to both psychological and physical abuse, whereas a winner-take-all reward system was related to physical abuse. Based on this systematic review, the authors proposed an integrated perspective of the organisational factors driving non-accidental violence in sport and conclude by proposing a whole-of-system approach to the prevention and management of non-accidental violence.

Keywords:

• Non-accidental violence
• Sport
• Organisational factors
• Systematic review
• Harassment
• Abuse

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Bill Harley, David Merrett, Robert Macdonald, the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their very helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Melbourne. Grant number: 1757478. The University of Melbourne Grant number: 603783.

Notes

1 We consider that in sport the often-used terminology of “victim” versus “perpetrator”, rooted in criminal behaviour studies, is problematic. Even though some of the non-accidental violence athletes experience is criminal, a wide range is not. The term “victim” might indicate that all individuals who experience non-accidental violence see themselves as passive or helpless in the face of abuse. Institutionalised abuse and spirals of aggression, for example, suggest that non-accidental violence in sport is more complex.

2 Articles preceded by an asterisk were included in the systematic review.