CoViS Module 2 – Preventing violence

Preventing Violence in Sport

Building respectful, equitable and safer sporting environments

Prevention starts before violence occurs. In sport, violence can include physical, psychological and sexual violence, as well as deprivation or neglect, and may also occur through digital and online environments. Prevention therefore means reducing the conditions in which harmful behaviour can develop or become normalised.

Sexist stereotypes, sexualised or degrading comments, discriminatory treatment and disrespect for personal boundaries may not always constitute violence in sport when considered in isolation. However, they can contribute to a culture in which inequality and inappropriate behaviour are more readily accepted. However, they can contribute to positive peer and team cultures that reject sexism, sexualisation, discrimination, and harmful gender stereotypes .

Why this module matters

Sport depends on close relationships, trust, teamwork and authority. These can be highly positive when they are based on respect, equality, autonomy and clear boundaries. Risk increases when excessive control, sexualisation, humiliation, harmful gender stereotypes or unquestioned authority become normalised.

The prevention goal

› Build relationships based on respect, equality and autonomy.

› Make personal, physical, professional and digital boundaries clear.

› Challenge sexist, sexualised and degrading team norms before they become accepted.

› Use authority transparently and avoid coercion, dependency or favouritism.

› Design organisations so that respectful behaviour is the easiest and expected option.

Learning goals

After completing this module, participants should be able to:

› understand the behaviours, social norms, power relations, and organisational conditions that can contribute to violence in sport;

› promote healthy, respectful, and equitable relationships among athletes, peers, coaches, and athlete support personnel;

› contribute to positive peer and team cultures that reject sexism, sexualisation, discrimination, and harmful gender stereotypes;

› apply practical prevention principles in everyday sport situations.

Relevant policy basis: European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) framing of systemic discrimination, unequal power relations and harmful gender norms; Directive (EU) 2024/1385 emphasis on prevention, equality and mutual respect.

1. Five foundations of prevention

Prevention in this module is organised around five principles that provide a simple framework for everyday practice in sport.

RESPECT

Treat people with dignity in communication, feedback and everyday interaction.

EQUALITY

Do not reinforce unequal treatment or harmful gender stereotypes.

AUTONOMY

Athletes should be able to express preferences, questions and limits.

BOUNDARIES

Keep physical, personal, professional and digital roles clear.

SAFETY

Organise sport so that people can participate without humiliation, pressure or coercion.

A practical prevention principle

Interactions should be necessary for the sporting or professional role, transparent, respectful and proportionate to the situation.

2. Respectful relationships and communication

Healthy relationships are central to violence in sport prevention. Athletes, peers, coaches and athlete support personnel should communicate in ways that protect dignity, equality and inclusion and should respond when someone expresses discomfort.

KEEP COMMUNICATION PROFESSIONAL: Speaking to others respectfully, avoiding sexist or sexualised comments, listening when someone expresses discomfort, respecting differences, and ensuring that sporting performance never becomes a justification for humiliation, intimidation or excessive control.

RESPECT BOUNDARIES: Clear purpose for any physical contact, respect privacy, conduct meetings in suitable places, make athletes feel respected.

Teams can agree on standards for respectful communication; ASP should explain professional limits; organizations should establish code of conduct.

USE AUTHORITY WISELY: Avoid favouritism, emotionally dependent relationships, intrusive involvement in athletes’ private lives, and using selection, playing time, treatment or access to opportunities as leverage in personal relationships.

USE DIGITAL CHANNELS PROFESSIONALLY: Online communication should follow the same standards as face-to-face interaction.

Appropriate content, timing, purpose and channels.

Team communication standards can be simple

› Do not use gender or sexual orientation as an insult.

› Avoid sexualised nicknames, degrading images, jokes or comments.

› Respect privacy and personal boundaries.

› Correct behaviour without attacking a person’s identity or dignity.

KEEP FEEDBACK PROFESSIONAL: Focus on performance, technique, health and development.

Avoid unnecessary comments about attractiveness, femininity, masculinity or private relationships.

CONSIDER IMPACT: Intent does not automatically make a comment appropriate.

A joke or motivational remark can still reinforce disrespectful norms or make someone uncomfortable.

RESPECT BODY-RELATED TOPICS: When body composition or physical characteristics are relevant, discuss them professionally and specifically.

No ridicule, humiliation or sexualisation.

PRACTICE RESPECTFUL COMMUNICATION: Discuss what respectful language looks like, identify expressions that may reinforce stereotypes, and agree on alternative ways of communicating.

Use inclusive language, acknowledge effort without humiliation, and correct behaviour without attacking a person’s identity or dignity.

3. Peer and team culture: prevent harmful norms from becoming “normal”

Peer culture strongly influences what a team comes to accept. Prevention is stronger when expectations are explicit rather than left to assumptions about “team culture” or “banter”.

SITUATION	PREVENTIVE EXPECTATION	WHY IT MATTERS
Changing rooms	Respect privacy, personal space and individual comfort.	Reduces humiliation, sexualisation and boundary ambiguity.
Group chats / social media	Do not circulate intimate or sexualised material or degrading comments.	Digital behaviour shapes team norms just as face-to-face behaviour does.
Social events	Do not pressure others into sexual, physical or social interaction.	Consent and autonomy still apply outside training.
Initiation / hazing	Reject practices involving humiliation or sexualised behaviour.	Tradition does not justify degrading treatment.
Leadership by senior athletes	Model respectful behaviour and challenge harmful stereotypes.	Newer and younger athletes learn what the group considers normal.

A useful team exercise: Team Respect Agreement

Teams can agree on a short set of shared expectations for communication, privacy, boundaries, changing rooms, social events and digital behaviour, and revisit them during the season.

4. Coaches and athlete support personnel: use power responsibly

Coaches and athlete support personnel (ASP) often hold expertise, authority and influence over selection, playing time, treatment, training opportunities, travel or career progression. Prevention requires that this power is used to support athlete autonomy rather than create dependency or personal control.

BOUNDARIES: Keep professional and personal roles clearly separated.

Avoid sexualised comments, intrusive questions, favouritism, unnecessary secrecy and emotionally dependent relationships.

PHYSICAL CONTACT: Use contact only for a legitimate coaching, medical, rehabilitation or safety purpose.

Explain what will happen and why when appropriate, and respect the athlete’s comfort and boundaries.

ONE-TO-ONE WORK: Protect confidentiality without creating unnecessary isolation.

Use suitable and transparent settings for individual meetings or treatment.

DECISIONS: Base selection, treatment and opportunities on clear professional criteria.

Athletes should be able to ask questions or express discomfort without fearing negative consequences.

5. Design sport organisations that prevent violence in sport

Prevention cannot depend only on individuals making good choices. Clubs and federations should create structures and routines that make respectful behaviour predictable, visible and easier to follow.

ORGANISATIONAL AREA	WHAT TO BUILD	PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
Clear expectations	Define acceptable conduct in practical terms.	Communication, physical contact, professional boundaries, digital communication, travel, accommodation, changing rooms and one-to-one interactions.
Safer environments	Identify situations where privacy, power imbalance or lack of oversight may increase risk.	Transparent meeting spaces, appropriate treatment settings, clear access rules and professional travel/accommodation arrangements.
Education & leadership	Provide regular prevention education and visible leadership.	Include athletes, coaches, ASP, staff, volunteers and decision-makers; leaders should model the same standards.
Review & feedback	Check whether team practices and spaces are creating avoidable risks.	Anonymous surveys, focus groups, staff reflection and athlete discussions.
Equality in governance	Examine whether structures reinforce harmful stereotypes or unequal opportunities.	Review participation, leadership, decision-making and resource distribution.

The organisational question

Does our system make respectful, transparent and professional behaviour the easiest and most expected option?

6. Turn prevention into everyday practice

Prevention is strongest when positive behaviour is routine rather than discussed only after something goes wrong. The same principles should be visible in training, competition, travel, changing rooms, social activities and digital communication.

Three practical commitments

› One behaviour we will strengthen – for example, giving feedback without humiliation or gender stereotypes.

› One team norm we will reinforce – for example, respecting privacy and not using sexualised “banter”.

› One organisational practice we will improve – for example, clearer rules for one-to-one sessions or digital communication.

Prevention becomes active when teams translate values into concrete behaviours, norms and organisational practices.

7. The CoViS Prevention Check

Before deciding whether a routine, interaction or team practice supports prevention, ask five questions.

STEP	QUESTION	WHY IT MATTERS
1. RESPECT?	Does the behaviour protect dignity and avoid humiliation, sexualisation or discriminatory language?	Respectful everyday behaviour shapes what the team comes to see as normal.
2. EQUALITY?	Does the practice avoid reinforcing harmful gender stereotypes or unequal treatment?	Prevention includes challenging norms that make inequality easier to accept.
3. AUTONOMY?	Can athletes ask questions, express preferences and set limits without fearing negative consequences?	Authority should support athlete autonomy rather than dependency or control.
4. BOUNDARIES?	Are personal, physical, professional and digital boundaries clear and appropriate?	Clear boundaries reduce ambiguity and the conditions in which inappropriate behaviour can develop.
5. TRANSPARENCY?	Would the interaction or practice remain appropriate if it were visible and clearly explained?	Transparency helps organisations make professional behaviour predictable and accountable.

Key Takeaways

1. START EARLY	Prevention begins before violence occurs, by addressing norms, relationships and everyday practices.
2. BUILD RESPECT	Respectful communication and equality should be normal in every part of sport.
3. KEEP BOUNDARIES CLEAR	Physical, personal, professional and digital boundaries should be explicit and consistent.
4. USE POWER RESPONSIBLY	Authority should support athlete autonomy, not dependency, coercion or unnecessary control.
5. DESIGN SAFER SYSTEMS	Organisations should make respectful and transparent behaviour the expected and easiest option.

Final message

Preventing violence in sport is not only about knowing what is prohibited. It is about creating a sport culture in which respect, equality, autonomy, clear boundaries and safety are visible in everyday practice.

Respect. Equality. Boundaries. Responsible power. Safer systems.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.