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Professor Kari Fasting responds that there is no recent research on the extent of abuse of children and young people in Norwegian sports. He is now calling on the Norwegian Sports Confederation to act.
– It is terrible that sport does not have an overview and does not have it now. Sport has worked a lot with prevention, and that is perhaps the most important thing, but I think it is very bad that you have such old data, says Fasting to Nettavisen.
She is a professor at the Norwegian Academy of Sports and is considered one of the world’s greatest resources for knowledge about abuse and harassment.
Ask the sport to act
Now he warns about the lack of knowledge that sport has about the magnitude of the problem of abuse.
He is now asking the Norwegian Sports Confederation (NIF) to ensure that they receive more and better data on abuse in Norwegian sports.
– I think it is totally possible to carry out research projects in sport that can provide an overview of incidence, situations in which this happens, risk groups, consequences, knowledge about the abuser, etc., says the teacher.
Listen to the Abuse in Sports podcast: – I panicked
To Nettavisen’s question about what we know about the extent of abuse against children and youth in Norwegian sports today, she responds in cash:
– Nothing.
– Did you talk to NIF about this?
– I have not spoken to the President about it, but I have spoken a lot with Håvard Øvregård throughout. We see that the data we have is too old, but it is what we have. When there is pressure from politicians, something usually happens. At the international level I live the same, we know that this is happening and it really is not so interesting to know if it is 40 percent who commit abuses or 20 percent, the important thing is to take preventive measures. My next point is that you should also research the measures you take and see if they have an effect, says Fasting.
Also read: Victim desperately calls for help: But neither the police nor the sport can intervene against a convicted sports photographer
– We don’t have numbers
Håvard Øvregård is a Senior Value Work Advisor at the Norwegian Sports Confederation.
He confirms to Nettavisen that Norwegian sports lack the knowledge they want and need about the occurrence of abuse in Norwegian sports.
– We have a 1999 study that says one in four elite athletes has suffered sexual harassment or abuse. It’s the only study we have, and it was Kari Fasting and Jorunn Sundgot-Borgen who were behind it, but beyond that, we don’t have figures on how many say they are abused in Norwegian sports, he says.
– Professor Kari Fasting describes it as “terrible” that the sport does not have an overview of the extent of the abuse or new data that can shed light on this. The last time this was investigated was in 1999. Do you understand the criticism and do you hope you can get new data soon?
– We want research that will give us more information about risk factors and how we can better prevent abuse. For this reason, in January we gave an input to the Ministry of Culture that we want the state to contribute to research, for example based on experiences with similar studies in the Armed Forces, responds Øvregård.
– Fasting believes that it is entirely possible to carry out research projects in sport that can provide an overview of the incidence, situations in which this occurs, risk groups, consequences, knowledge about the abuser, etc. You tell us that you want data collection to take place on other larger surveys, not just for sports. Have you considered paying for an important survey with Norwegian sports teams yourself?
– We have considered that this is a larger research project than we have the capacity to commission alone, hence our contribution to the Ministry of Culture in January of this year, he replies.
Read: “Ida” was just a girl when the coach raped her. Today he fights a desperate battle to get him out of the sports environment.
– It is not necessary to know how many crimes are committed
He confirms that NIF can take the lead for its own investigations and investigations, but believes that an investigation that addresses the extent of abuse in Norwegian sports will be quite an expensive investigation.
Therefore, NIF has proposed in its entry to the sports report to include such a research project in a major study at the national level. The proposal for a new sports report will finally be considered by the Storting.
– We do not need to know how many abuses are committed, we know that there are too many and that very little is done to prevent them. What we want is that, when large national investigations are conducted on child abuse, it is asked at the same time whether it was committed in a sports context. Not done today, Øvregård believes.
Fasting believes that around the year 2000 there was a perception that abuse does not occur in sports.
She uses the word “denial” about how the issue was viewed 20 years ago.
– Since then, a lot has happened, believes Fasting.
– How high a priority do you consider that prevention or detection of abuse against children and young people is today in Norwegian sports?
– In 2016, nearly 50 percent of Norwegian sports teams actively worked to publicize the guidelines. It is not enough, because everyone should do it. There is zero tolerance for this in Norwegian sports, so everyone should do it. Clearly, it should be a much higher priority. Much more work should be done on this.
– Does NIF do a good job when it comes to preventing or countering abuse in Norwegian sports?
– I think it is important to point out that once nothing was done, to the point that now they hired one person and hired several. Norwegian sports could also be better and reserve more resources for this. They could have started more and provided more knowledge in the field. When they think it’s important enough, they fund the research themselves, believe.
NIF has been presented with Fasting’s claim that “if it’s important enough, they fund the research themselves.”
Øvregård responds to this:
– As we have said in our contribution to the new sports report, we want more knowledge about the scope and risk factors of sexual harassment and abuse in sport, as well as the important research efforts carried out on the subject of childhood, adolescence and abuse should include data on sports as the largest leisure activity for children and young people in Norway, and by the state collaborating with sport on special sports investigations. We see that more knowledge is needed also for leisure activities outside of sport and for the whole field of culture, sport and volunteering, and we believe that this is best solved through greater cooperation between sport, the State and other actors. relevant.
Fasting is a big proponent of the issue of having to become part of coach education in Norwegian special associations.
In 2006, no special federation had dedicated space to this in coach education, according to Fasting. By 2017, the number had risen to 28 percent.
– I think it is too little, but at least you can see the positive development. The issue of harassment, sexual abuse and also racism must be included in all coaching education, I think it is very important, he says.
The sport’s guidelines against sexual harassment and abuse were last revised in 2010, when the fast was the only one outside of NIF that participated in its creation.
– It can ruin people’s lives
The sports association is now working on the revision of these, and Fasting has been asked again to participate in that work and guarantee this quality.
– You have been investigating abuse in sports for several years. What has made the biggest impression in these years?
– I think there are some of the interviews that I did in which it turned out that what we would call a mild form of sexual harassment has had a huge negative effect on the person. Even many years later, one can be affected by lack of sleep and other difficulties. I especially remember an interview where the person was still in the sport, but not as active, and on occasion this person would see conventions. That alone could create a reaction. Serious abuse can ruin people’s lives.
Håvard Øvregård at NIF is at least sure of one thing:
Sports should take the issue seriously no matter where in Norway or what sports team they are on.
– If you take the entire spectrum of sexual harassment and abuse, not just serious cases, it happens on all sports teams. Either it has happened on your sports team before, without your necessarily knowing it, or it happens now, without you knowing it, or it will happen in the future, he says.
Here you can read all our cases in the article series on abuse in sport. Do you want to warn the Nettavisen journalists about something? Get in touch by email here.
Do you need to report sexual abuse of yourself or others? Contact the police here.
More from the series of articles on abuse in sport:
The sea
Trond travels through Norway and teaches sports teams about abuse: – Backlash often. People start laughing
The sea
“Ida” was just a girl when the coach raped her. Today he fights a desperate battle to get him out of the sports environment.
The sea
Maria (27) works to prevent abuse. Then the colleague was arrested: – I got it right in the carpentry
The sea
Trygve notified the NFF of the judges’ sexual approaches, but the man was allowed to continue judging. The judge is now accused of having sex with children
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