Cheryl Roberts wants parents and sports administrators to be more aware of the possibility of sexual abuse by coaches.
The recent conviction of 75-year-old Bob Hewitt of rape should have sent more than shivers down people’s spines, especially parents with tweens and teenage girls in sport.
It should also raise the sensitive but necessary questions around coaching and training in sport. Should men be allowed to coach teenage girls in sport?
The one-time tennis Grand Slam doubles champion was brought before court in a case involving the rape and assault of girls playing tennis. Although the rape and assaults occurred decades ago, when his students were minors and teenagers, Hewitt was found guilty.
Just because Hewitt has now been convicted doesn’t mean that rape and assault of girls and women have ended.
There exists every chance that, just as Hewitt was being announced as a rapist in a court of law, sexual assault and harassment of girls in sport were occurring somewhere in a school, community, town, rural or urban area in South Africa.
Sexual abuse and assault occur within sports the world over.
Most sexual abuse is covered up by sports officials and, surprisingly, by the parents themselves.
That’s when the sports girls have the courage to inform their parents about what happened to them.
Controlled mainly by men, who are not known to be fierce and vocal about anti-sexual harassment of women and girls (by not being fierce and vocal, I’m not saying they support abuse and attacks against girls and women), South African sport’s officialdom doesn’t spotlight sexual abuse as often as it should. The usual response is a statement in the media.
Girls are involved in sport at community, club and school level. Because of the low number of women coaches in the sports network, men coaches train teenage girls. Most coaches are dedicated, passionate and encouraging. But among them are the sexual abusers who prey on the sports girls and attack their young bodies.
South African sport does not engage in conscious programmes aimed at eradicating sexual abuse by male coaches. The coaches are trusted by parents, school governing bodies and sports federations to assist the teenage and pre-teen girls to develop in sport.
Although it seems as if the coach is coaching from the line, giving instructions, sport also involves close contact. Those of us on the sports field or in the sports halls often see male coaches having to assist the sports girl when she is injured, being spoken to, or needs consultation and encouragement.
Most parents have never considered sexual abuse of their daughter in sport.
“The coach is so nice. He does so much for my daughter. It just can’t happen that he will sexually assault her,” is what most parents are thinking.
Because more convictions haven’t been achieved and more male coaches haven’t been found guilty of sexual abuse, it doesn’t mean that Hewitt is the only sexual abuser and rapist or that it is a rare case, or that sexual abuse doesn’t really happen.
Sexual abuse and rape of sports girls by men coaches do occur in sport.
I’m asking and raising these questions because sexual abuse is frowned upon in sport as something “not spoken about, not touched upon”, but it has happened and continues to.
Victims of sexual abuse in sport, for reasons and choices best known to them, don’t make it public. People may ask how I’m so aware of sexual abuse and where are the facts and statistics. I can say that we are very much aware of sexual abuse.
Victims confide in others, people get told about the abuse but are asked to “keep it confidential” because the victim isn’t ready to go public.
I personally know of a woman still suffering trauma because she was raped by her karate coach. I so want this karate coach to be charged, but the woman says she’s “not ready to expose him”.
For a start, I’m calling on sports leaders to be bold and decisive. Acknowledge that sexual abuse, sexual harassment and assault do occur in sport; that this abuse and assault can’t be locked away as if the acts don’t happen.
Positive responses can and should be initiated. Coaches should be conscious of what sexual abuse is; must know the boundary line when coaching.
Girls in sport are to be informed and conscientised about their bodies in relation to the coach.
Additionally, sports girls must be encouraged to be able to know when they are being sexually abused in sport, and to whom they can talk about this.
Parents and guardians must not be afraid to talk about the potential of sexual abuse in sport.
Allowing your daughter to go off with the male coach to a sports event may look all innocent, just as leaving your daughter at training with the male coaches may seem okay.
But parents must not be naive and think the daughter/coach relationship is all about sport and nothing else.
I’m sure when the day arrives, when they can keep it in no longer, victims of sexual abuse in sport over the decades will find they can no longer face the trauma alone and will reveal their sexual abuse in sport, when all they wanted was to play sport.
Pretoria News
*Roberts is a sports commentator.
** The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Independent Newspapers.