A recent case in Greece provides an important example. On 28 August, the Hellenic Police publicly released information concerning a sports instructor facing serious criminal charges involving sexual offences against minors. But the most important part of this story for CoViS is not only the allegations. It is the response. The authorities explained that making … Read more

The CoViS statistical analysis revealed something critical: feeling capable of reporting an incident is the strongest predictor of whether someone will actually report it — even stronger than simply feeling safe in their environment. Together, perceived reporting capability and psychological safety explain 54.7% of the variation in athletes’ willingness to speak up. The conclusion is … Read more

Today in Sofia, the partners of CoViS – Combat Against Gender-Based Violence in Sport came together for the project’s Transnational Interim Project Meeting, co-funded by the European Union under Erasmus+ Sport.   The meeting focused on project progress, the development of training resources, upcoming awareness-raising activities, and the next steps for communication and dissemination.   … Read more

She saw him like a father. That was exactly the problem. A young athlete arrives in Athens from the provinces to join the national team. A senior sports official — a man she trusted and regarded almost as a member of the family — invites her into his office to “talk about athletics.” What happened … Read more

Silence is not always a choice. Sometimes, it is the result of a power imbalance. In December 2020, two-time Olympic sailing medallist Sofia Bekatorou spoke publicly about the sexual abuse she experienced in 1998 by a senior official of the Hellenic Sailing Federation. For 23 years, she remained silent in a system without a safe, … Read more

As part of the CoViS project, we conducted a needs analysis among athletes to better understand experiences of sexual harassment in sport. Almost half of the participants reported experiencing insults or mockery based on their sex at least once. These findings highlight that harassment in sport is not an isolated issue and reinforce the need … Read more

We are excited to announce that we have successfully completed our work on WP2 – CoViS Survey. 💜 A huge thank you to everyone who contributed by sharing their experiences and insights. Your feedback is helping us build safer and more inclusive sport environments for young people. 🚀 Based on the survey findings and analysis, … Read more

➡️ Among athletes who identified the people involved, 30.6% mentioned teammates, 20.8% coaches, and 12.5% other staff — showing that safety in sport is not only a matter of coach education, but a responsibility of the entire sports community. ➡️ When asked whether they had reported the incident to someone, the sample was split exactly … Read more

Some forms of harassment appeared in a smaller proportion of the sample — but precisely because they are more serious, they should never be ignored: ➡️ 14.7% reported sexual insinuations, disturbing phone calls, or unwanted photographs. ➡️ 12% reported sexual blackmail or pressure to engage in sexual contact. ➡️ 10.3% reported exposure to pornographic material. … Read more

“In my generation, in the 1990s, we used to slap each other on the buttocks as a way of celebrating. Today, this no longer happens; and if it did, I believe it would be condemned.” A statement like this can often be heard in sporting environments — and it shows just how much our culture … Read more