1. Safeguarding from Violence Against Women (VAW) in sport
Simon Kerss
Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership Manager, Cambridgeshire County Council
December 2015

2. Contact simon.kerss@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or visit

3. Overview
Definitions
Context
Case studies
Responses
Prevention

4. Safeguarding definition
Safeguarding means protecting people's health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. 
(Care Quality Commission, 2015)

5. VAW definition
The United Nations defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”.
(General Assembly Resolution 48/104 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, 1993).

6. Sexual violence definition
Sexual violence is defined as: any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work.
(World Health Organisation, 2015).

7. Statutory definition of consent
Section 74 [Sexual Offences Act, 2003] defines consent as 'if he agrees by choice, and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice'. Prosecutors should consider this in two stages. They are:
Whether a complainant had the capacity (i.e. the age and understanding) to make a choice about whether or not to take part in the sexual activity at the time in question.
Whether he or she was in a position to make that choice freely, and was not constrained in any way. Assuming that the complainant had both the freedom and capacity to consent, the crucial question is whether the complainant agrees to the activity by choice.
The question of capacity to consent is particularly relevant when a complainant is intoxicated by alcohol or affected by drugs.
(Sexual Offences Act, 2003).

8. National definition ‘domestic abuse’
Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. This can encompass but is not limited to the following types of abuse:
psychological
physical
sexual
financial
emotional
Controlling behaviour is: a range of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape and regulating their everyday behaviour.

9. National definition (continued)
Coercive behaviour is: an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim.
This definition, which is not a legal definition, includes so called ‘honour’ based violence, female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage, and is clear that victims are not confined to one gender or ethnic group.

10. Legislation and policy to address VAW
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)
Sexual Offences Act (2003)
Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act (2004)
National Strategies and Action Plans (2008 – present)
Home Office Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan (2009 – present)
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (2011)

11. Context to VAW
Worldwide, almost one third of all women who have been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner (WHO, 2013)
Globally, as many as 38% of all murders of women are committed by intimate partners
14.8% of American women over the age of 17 raped in lifetime
One in 10 women in the European Union report having experienced cyber-harassment since the age of 15 (including having received unwanted, offensive sexually explicit s or SMS messages, or offensive, inappropriate advances on social networking sites).
(WHO, 2013 & UN, 2015)

12. Context to VAW in sports
40% of elite female athletes have experienced sexism in their sporting lives, only 7% have reported it (Women in Sport, 2015)
Steubenville (
Patrick Kane (
Florida State (

13. The ‘lifecycle’ of VAW
UN (2015)

14. Spaces of VAW Environment (home, work, social settings)
Socioeconomic status*
Mental health issues
Substance misuse issues
General criminality
Intersectionality with other vulnerabilities

15. Feminist theory on the causality of VAW
Violence against women is ‘normative and functional’ (Kelly, 1998)
Factors influencing this approach:
The historically subordinate position of women within marriage
Women’s responsibility for childcare (and subsequent exclusion from the labour market and weak economic position in the household)
Patriarchy reproduces male power / female dependence at all levels – social, cultural and economic
Machismo cultures and tacit or explicit approval of male violence.

16. Feminist theory on the causality of VAW
‘Structural and ideological’ character of patriarchy = violence as a means of social control (Dobash and Dobash, 1992)
‘Threatened masculinity’ = loss of male power and control whereby perpetrators feel ‘emasculated’ and depict female partners as ‘dominating’ (Anderson and Umberson, 2001)

17. Conflict theory causality
Emphasizes: stress, the normative acceptability of violence and the inability to express feelings appropriately (Strauss and Gelles, 1990)
Normative violence / danger (Glasser, 1998)
Lack of emotional intelligence (Scheff, 1997)
Learned norms (Mihalic and Elliot, 1997)

18. Neuro-biological / evolutionary causality
Fromm (1974)
Clastres (1994)
Sanderson (1995)
Frayers (1997)
McCall and Shields (2007)
Collins (2008)

19. Modelling the pattern of offending
Motivation
Overcoming Internal Inhibitors
Overcoming External Inhibitors
Overcoming Victim’s Resistance
Finkelhor (1984)

20. Impacts of VAW
WHO (2013)

21. Impacts of VAW in sport ‘Everyday’ sexism Bullying
Stalking / harassment (inc. cyber-bullying / ‘sexting’)
Domestic abuse
Sexual violence
Rape

22. Impacts of VAW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZhRNPFIP9c
Jointheconversation (2013)

23. Responding to victims of VAW in sport
Four key messages following disclosure:
You are not alone (victims often feel isolated, and may be unaware that they are indeed being victimised. It is essential that responses enable victims to self-identify, and to understand that their experiences are not unusual)
I believe you (the vast majority of those affected do not disclose, so those individuals receiving a disclosure are in a privileged position. Whereas safeguarding is always a priority, the discloser should be provided with a range of options appropriate to their need, and in addition to perceived professional judgement on the level of risk presenting)
You are strong (most victims have self-managed the abuse and violence for some time prior to disclosure. Therefore, individuals receiving the disclosure should be mindful that the discloser has the capacity and resiliance to manage their own circumstances moving forward)
Recovery is possible (the key to all interventions is to promote the message that short and long-term change is possible).
AVA (2015)

24. Steps after disclosure
Consider and act on victim’s needs - signposting to services (visit for a directory of relevant agencies). Ensure confidentiality, where possible
Ask the ‘right’ questions (who, what, where, when), but do not ‘investigate’
Being aware of issues around manipulation, minimization, collusion and denial
Discuss disclosure with line management immediately before taking any potential action to intervene further (including with the alleged offender) according to your agency policies
Securely record all disclosures and interventions.

25. Challenging VAW in sports settings
Never directly challenge, or question, alleged offenders regarding a specific disclosure against them – it is not your duty to investigate
Instead, progress all relevant disclosures through your agency’s established policy
Ensure that your group / club has a specific policy to prevent VAW from occurring
If you suspect VAW as a general attitudinal issue (rather than a specific incident of violence), warn all concerned that such behaviour will never be tolerated, and that further disciplinary steps may be taken.

26. Understanding consent
(Copyright ©2015 Emmeline May and Blue Seat Studios).

27. Prevention of VAW in sports settings
Acknowledge that there are environmental, social and psychological barriers to women participating in sport
Actively promote gender equality and equality of opportunity (see and visit
Empower women to ‘design and deliver’ across your club
Youth Sport Trust (2015) and Women in Sport (2015)

28. Additional resources
Cambridgeshire Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership at
Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre at
Cambridge Women’s Aid at
Cambridgeshire Sexual Assault and Referral Centre (SARC) at
Support for men who use violence and abuse (RESPECT) at
White Ribbon Sports Campaign at
Women in Sport at
Sport Free from Harassment policy at