Research shows that sexual harassment and abuse (SHA) in sport is widespread yet often invisible due to significant underreporting and non-disclosure (Tuakli-Wosornu et al., 2024; Sølvberg et al., 2023). Openness and disclosure of harmful practices are essential for preventing, recognizing, and responding to such incidents. This study examines disclosure related to SHA in equine sports through the following research questions:
RQ1: What are the reported experiences of equine sector participants regarding disclosure and non-disclosure of SHA?RQ2: What individual/interpersonal, organizational, and cultural factors influence disclosure and non-disclosure in equine sport contexts?
Guided by a socioecological framework (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Tuakli-Wosornu et al., 2024), disclosure is understood as a socially constructed phenomenon shaped by interactions across individual/interpersonal, organizational, and cultural levels. These levels interact dynamically, influencing both the likelihood of disclosure and its consequences.
A mixed-methods design was employed. A retrospective cross-sectional questionnaire targeted current and former equine sector participants in Sweden and Norway (n=654). In addition, qualitative interviews with participants exposed to SHA (N=22) provided in-depth accounts of reasons for non-disclosure and experiences of reporting processes. Descriptive statistics of the survey data and thematic analysis of the interview data were conducted.
Preliminary findings will be presented, including the occurrence of disclosure, reasons for non-disclosure, and accounts illustrating, for example, organizational mistrust and culturally embedded silence. The findings and implications are discussed with an emphasis on promoting disclosure and addressing individual/interpersonal, organizational, and cultural barriers.
2025.
Svensk Förening för Beteende- och Samhällsvetenskaplig Idrottsforsknings (SVEBI) årliga konferens, 27-28 november 2025, Örebro.