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Abuse and harassment in sports can present in many forms1 2 and are dishearteningly common, having disproportionate effects on groups who experience structural and systemic inequities such as athletes living with a disability3, 2SLGBTQIA+athletes4 and children and youth.3 Despite consistently low rates of disclosure of abuse in sports, moving forward with disclosure can be an effective catalyst towards the healing process, at which point the survivor may feel more comfortable seeking formal or informal avenues of support. However, a variety of factors can impede disclosure, prevent responses and enable ongoing experiences of abuse. These barriers include conflicts of interest, fear of professional repercussions, lack of formal pathways to respond to athlete maltreatment, power differentials, personal loyalty and organisational protectionism. This editorial discusses trauma- and violence-informed approaches to assist athlete disclosures of abuse and harassment in sports.
The central role of sports medicine clinicians
Because of the trusted and integral role sports medicine clinicians often play in the lives of athletes, particularly in collegiate and professional sports, disclosure of abuse to clinicians becomes more likely. As such, sports medicine clinicians are uniquely positioned to interrupt cycles of abuse in sport. This is catalysing a growing call to action to better equip sports medicine professionals with practical training and strategies to provide safe, non-threatening care for athletes disclosing experiences of abuse within and beyond the sporting context.1 …
Footnotes
X @lindsbrad
Correction notice This article has been corrected since it published Online First. The title has been corrected.
Contributors LB conceived of the presented idea. MS-P led the writing of this manuscript with the support of LB and FD with additional insights from SB providing the patient/athlete perspective. MS-P and FD created the tables and figures with editing by LB. All authors contributed to the editing and final manuscript. LB is responsible for the overall content as guarantor and accepts full responsibility for the finished work of the study.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient and public involvement statement One of our authors provided the athlete lived experience perspective and another the professional perspective.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.