Gymnastics and Child Abuse: Female Gymnasts’s Experiences

Abstract

This study aimed to examine child abuse in sports from the perspective of elite female gymnasts. The participants included 10 retired elite female gymnasts who took part in national teams in different categories. Participants' sports experience is at least 8 and maximum 12 years and ranged in age from 28 to 36 years. The data collected through in-depth individual interviews with the participants were analyzed with the content analysis technique. In the study, the opinions of the participants on the types of abuse originating from “emotional”, “physical”, “sexual” and “neglect” defined by the World Health Organization and the International Olympic Committee, the umbrella association of sports, were received. In the light of the information obtained from the experiences and opinions of the participants, it was emphasized in the study that all types of abuse were mostly carried out by the coach with some behavioral patterns, and the lack of security in sports environments paved the way for abuse in sports. According to the research findings, it has been determined that elite child athlete exposed to emotional abuse due to behaviors such as verbal violence, pressure and negative language use; physical abuse due to excessive physical exertion and throwing objects; sexual abuse for reasons such as sexually explicit conversations and accommodation in unsafe area and negligence due to not fulfilling the health conditions and favoritism. As a result, all participants experienced intense emotional abuse and it was determined that this situation left permanent effects in adulthood.