What is Safe about Safe Sport? A Gendered Interrogation of Canadian University Safe Sport Policies in Higher Education
Keywords:
Bacchi, Canadian universities, gender, safe sport, UCC SportAbstract
In this paper, we seek to examine how organizational norms and structures in Canadian university sport perpetuate a culture that does not adequately address maltreatment, harassment, and abuse that affects women athletes. Our examination focuses on two inter-related questions. First, how do safe sport policies highlight gendering practices in university athletics? And second, how is safety problematized in safe sport policies? In addressing our research question, we apply genderwashing as a conceptual framework, alongside Carol Bacchi’s “What’s the Problem” approach to analyze the USPORTS and Western University’s safe sport policies. Our analysis reveals that safe sport policies demonstrate genderwashing practices in their use of gender-neutral language. The use of gender-neutral language within these policies contributes to an erasure of women athletes’ experiences, and a reluctance to engage with issues of gender violence in sport. We suggest addressing this issue will require a commitment to creating a safe sport culture that recognizes gender, and other axis of identity, as relevant to athletes’ diverse experiences and understanding of safety within Canadian university sport.
Downloads
References
Aavik, K., Ubakivi‐Hadachi, P., Raudsepp, M., & Roosalu, T. (2024). The gender pay gap—What’s the problem represented to be? Analyzing the discourses of Estonian employers, employees, and state officials on pay equality. Gender, Work & Organization, 31(1), 171-191. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.13061
Ahmed, S. (2014). Willful subjects. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/willful-subjects
Ahmed, S. (2021). Complaint! Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/complaint
Anderson, E. (2008). “I used to think women were weak”: Orthodox masculinity, gender segregation, and sport. Sociological Forum, 23(2), 257–280. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1573-7861.2008.00058.x
Bacchi, C. (2009). Analysing policy: What’s the problem represented to be? Pearson Education.
Bacchi, C. (2012a). Introducing the ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’ approach. In A. Bletsas & C. Beasley (Eds.), Engaging with Carol Bacchi: Strategic interventions and exchanges (pp. 21–24). University of Adelaide Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/UPO9780987171856.003
Bacchi, C. (2012b). Why study problematizations? Making politics visible. Open Journal of Political Science, 2(1), 1–8. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojps.2012.21001
Bacchi, C. (2017). Policies as gendering practices: Re-viewing categorical distinctions, Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, 38(1), 20-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/1554477X.2016.1198207
Bacchi, C., & Eveline, J. (2010). Mainstreaming politics: Gendering practices and feminist theory. University of Adelaide Press. https://doi.org/10.1080/1554477x.2012.696521
Bacchi, C., & Goodwin, S. (2016). Poststructural policy analysis: A guide to practice (1st ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/978-1-137-52546-8
Bachynski, K. (2020). #MeToo, Larry Nassar, and sexual abuse in youth sports. In F. Jacob (Ed.), Sports and politics: Commodification, capitalist exploitation, and political agency (pp. 143–166). De Gruyter Oldenbourg. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110679397-007
Balfour, G., Du Mont, J., & White, D. (2018). “To this day she continues to struggle with the terror imposed upon her”: Rape narratives in victim impact statements. Women & Criminal Justice, 28(1), 43–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/08974454.2017.1342744
Benschop, Y., & Verloo, M. (2011). Gender change, organizational change, and gender equality strategies. In E. L. Jeanes, D. Knights, & P. Y. Martin (Eds.), Handbook of gender, work and organization (pp. 277–290). Wiley-Blackwell.
Birrell, S. (2000). Feminist theories for sport. In J. Coakley & E. Dunning (Eds.), Handbook of sports studies (pp. 61–76). SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781848608382.n4
Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. (2023). Canadian Safe Sport Program. CCES. https://cces.ca/canadian-safe-sport-program
Canadian Heritage. (2018, June 19). Minister Duncan announces stronger measures to eliminate harassment, abuse, and discrimination in sport. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2018/06/minister-duncan-announces-stronger-measures-to-eliminate-harassment-abuse-and-discrimination-in-sport.html
Canadian Heritage. (2019, May 21). Minister Duncan announces support for sport organizations to address harassment, abuse, discrimination and maltreatment in sport. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2019/05/minister-duncan-announces-support-for-sport-organizations-to-address-harassment-abuse-discrimination-and-maltreatment-in-sport.html
Canadian Heritage. (2023, May 11). Minister St-Onge announces new measures to improve accountability and foster a safe and sustainable culture change in sport. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2023/05/minister-st-onge-announces-new-measures-to-improve-accountability-and-foster-a-safe-and-sustainable-culture-change-in-sport.html
Donnelly, P., Kerr, G., & Kidd, B. (2022). Contesting the autonomy of sport to realize the right to safe sport: A Canadian case study. The International Sports Law Journal, 22(2), 165–170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40318-022-00225-2
Doyle, M. (2021, January 27). She was a running prodigy. he was the most powerful man in track. how her promising career unravelled. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-athlete-breaks-silence-about-sexual-misconduct-of-university-of-guelph/
Duhatschek, P. (2021, October 5). University of Guelph alumni want fuller investigation into track program after coach fired for misconduct. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/guelph-university-track-program-call-for-investigation-1.6199173
Edwards, C., Claussen, M. C., & Schmidt, R. E. (2023). Mental health impacts of interpersonal violence in sports. Sports Psychiatry: Journal of Sports and Exercise Psychiatry, 2(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1024/2674-0052/a000039
Ewing, L. (2020, March 25). Athletics Canada issues lifetime ban to former national team coach accused of inappropriate relationship. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/david-scott-thomas-sexual-relationship-lifetimeban-march25-1.5457594#:~:text=During%20that%20investigation%2C%20the%20university,in%202006%2C%20it%20%22would%20have
Fisher, L. A., & Anders, A. D. (2020). Engaging with cultural sport psychology to explore systemic sexual exploitation in USA Gymnastics: A call to commitments. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 32(2), 129–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2018.1564944
Fogel, C. (2017). Precarious masculinity and rape culture in Canadian university sport. In E. Quinlan, C. Fogel, A. Quinlan, & G. Taylor (Eds.), Sexual violence at Canadian universities: Activism, institutional responses, and strategies for change (pp. 139–158). Wilfrid Laurier University Press. https://doi.org/10.51644/9781771122849-008
Fox-Kirk, W., Gardiner, R. A., Finn, H., & Chisholm, J. (2020). Genderwashing: The myth of equality. Human Resource Development International, 23(5), 586-597. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2020.1801065
Gurgis, J. J., Kerr, G., & Darnell, S. (2022). ‘Safe sport is not for everyone’: Equity-deserving athletes’ perspectives of, experiences and recommendations for safe sport. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 832560. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.832560
Gurgis, J. J., & Kerr, G. A. (2021). Sport administrators’ perspectives on advancing safe sport. Frontiers in sports and active living, 3, 630071. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.630071
Harmon, S. H. E. (2020). Gender inclusivity in sport? From value, to values, to actions, to equality for Canadian athletes. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 12(2), 255–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2019.1680415
Intemann, K. (2010). 25 years of feminist empiricism and standpoint theory: Where are we now? Hypatia, 25(4), 778–796. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527-2001.2010.01138.x
Jeffrey, N. K., Senn, C. Y., Krieger, M. A., & Forrest, A. (2023). The scope, nature, and impact of sexual violence among students from a Canadian university: A random sample study. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 55(2), 100-112. https://doi.org/10.1037/cbs0000329
Jewett, R., Kerr, G., MacPherson, E., & Stirling, A. (2020). Experiences of bullying victimisation in female interuniversity athletes. International journal of sport and exercise psychology, 18(6), 818-832. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2019.1611902
Johnson, N., Hanna, K., Novak, J., & Giardino, A. P. (2020). US center for SafeSport: Preventing abuse in sports. Women in sport and physical activity journal, 28(1), 66-71.
Kerr, G. (2023). Gender-based violence in children’s sport. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003035138
Kerr, G., Kidd, B., & Donnelly, P. (2020). One step forward, two steps back: The struggle for child protection in Canadian sport. Social Sciences, 9(5), 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci9050068
Kidd, B. (2013). Sports and masculinity. Sport in Society, 16(4), 553–564. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2013.785757
Kidd, B., Kerr, G., & Donnelly, P. (2022, December 14). Ensuring full and safe participation by Canadian girls and women, fair athlete representation, and good governance in Canadian sport [Policy brief]. House of Commons, Parliament of Canada. https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/441/CHPC/Brief/BR12173327/br-external/Jointly1-e.pdf
Kirby, S., & Demers, G. (2013). Sexual harassment and abuse in sport. In P. White & K. Young (Eds.), Gender relations in sport (pp. 141–161). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6209-455-0_8
Laberge, S. (2000). Conceptions of Masculinity and Gender Transgressions in Sport Among Adolescent Boys: Hegemony, Contestation, and the Social Class Dynamic. In Masculinities, Gender Relations, and Sport. SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452233963.n13
Levi, H., Wadey, R., Bunsell, T., Day, M., Hays, K., & Lampard, P. (2023). Women in a man’s world: Coaching women in elite sport. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 35(4), 571–597. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2022.2051643
MacArthur, P. J., Angelini, J. R., Billings, A. C., & Smith, L. R. (2016). The dwindling Winter Olympic divide between male and female athletes: the NBC broadcast network’s primetime coverage of the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. Sport in Society, 19(10), 1556–1572. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2016.1159193
MacPherson, E., Battaglia, A., Kerr, G., Wensel, S., McGee, S., Milne, A., ... & Willson, E. (2022). Evaluation of publicly accessible child protection in sport education and reporting initiatives. Social sciences, 11(7), 310. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11070310
McCray, K. L. (2015). Intercollegiate athletes and sexual violence: A review of literature and recommendations for future study. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 16(4), 438–443. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838014537907
McCray, K. L., Evans, J. O., Lower-Hoppe, L. M., Brgoch, S. M., & Ryder, A. (2023). Does athlete status explain sexual violence victimization and perpetration on college campuses? A socio-ecological study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(19–20), 11067–11090. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605231178356
McMahon, J., & McGannon, K. R. (2021). “I hurt myself because it sometimes helps”: Former athletes’ embodied emotion responses to abuse using self-injury. Sport, Education and Society, 26(2), 161–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2019.1702940
McMahon, J., McGannon, K. R., & Palmer, C. (2022). Body shaming and associated practices as abuse: Athlete entourage as perpetrators of abuse. Sport, Education and Society, 27(5), 578–591. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2021.1890571
McRae, N., Giles, A., & Hayhurst, L. (2024). Safe sport for whom?: Are national sport organisations addressing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action for sport through safe sport policies? International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 16(2), 235–253. https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2024.2323006
Messner, M. A. (1992). Power at play: sports and the problem of masculinity. Beacon Press. https://archive.org/details/poweratplaysport0000mess
Messner, M. (2011). Gender ideologies, youth sports, and the production of soft essentialism. Sociology of Sport Journal, 28(2), 151–170. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.28.2.151
Metcalfe, S. N., & Lindsey, I. (2020). Gendered trends in young people’s participation in active lifestyles: The need for a gender-neutral narrative. European Physical Education Review, 26(2), 535–551. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356336X19874095
Mishna, F., Kerr, G., McInroy, L. B., & MacPherson, E. (2019). Student athletes’ experiences of bullying in intercollegiate sport. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, 13(1), 53-73. https://doi.org/10.1080/19357397.2019.1581512
Mountjoy, M., Brackenridge, C., Arrington, M., Blauwet, C., Carska-Sheppard, A., Fasting, K., Kirby, S., Leahy, T., Marks, S., Martin, K., Starr, K., Tiivas, A., & Budgett, R. (2016). International Olympic Committee consensus statement: harassment and abuse (non-accidental violence) in sport. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(17), 1019–1029. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096121
Muehlenhard, C. L., Peterson, Z. D., Humphreys, T. P., & Jozkowski, K. N. (2017). Evaluating
the one-in-five statistic: Women’s risk of sexual assault while in college. The Journal of Sex Research, 54(4-5), 549-576. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2017.1295014
Musingafi, M. C. C., Mafumbate, R., & Khumalo, T. F. (2021). Standpoint theories of feminism. In M. C. C. Musingafi, R. Mafumbate, & T. F. Khumalo (Eds.), Philosophising experiences and vision of the female body, mind, and soul: Historical context and contemporary theory. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-4090-9.ch009 https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-4090-9.ch009
Owen, J. (2024, March 6). The evolution of U Sports. University Affairs. https://universityaffairs.ca/features/the-evolution-of-u-sports/
Ramaeker, J., & Petrie, T. A. (2019). “Man up!”: Exploring intersections of sport participation, masculinity, psychological distress, and help-seeking attitudes and intentions. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 20(4), 515-527. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000198
Riemann, M. (2023). Studying problematizations: The value of Carol Bacchi’s What’s the problem represented to be (WPR) methodology for IR. Alternatives, Global, Local, Political, 48(2) 151-169. https://doi.org/10.1177/03043754231155763
Scraton, S. (2018). Feminism and PE: Does gender still matter? In L. Mansfield, J. Caudwell, B. Wheaton, & B. Watson (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of feminism and sport, leisure and physical education (pp. 25–42). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53318-0_3
Shankar, I., & Tavcer, D. S. (2021). “Good people with good intentions”: Deconstructing a post-secondary institution’s sexual violence policy construction. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy/Revue canadienne en administration et politique de l’éducation, (195), 2–16. https://doi.org/10.7202/1075669ar
Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada. (2022, May 31). Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (Version 6.0). https://sportintegritycommissioner.ca/files/UCCMS-v6.0-20220531.pdf
Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada. (n.d.). About. Abuse-Free Sport. https://abuse-free-sport.ca/about
Stevens, J. (2022). Athletes first: The promotion of safe sport in Canada. In J. Stevens (Ed.), Safe sport: Critical issues and practices. eCampusOntario Press. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/safesport/chapter/athletes-first-the-promotion-of-safe-sport-in-canada/
Stevens, J. (2025). Athletes first: The promotion of safe sport in Canada. In J. Stevens (Ed.), Safe sport: Critical issues and practices (2nd ed.). eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/safesport/front-matter/front-matter-3/
Stirling, A. E. (2009). Definition and constituents of maltreatment in sport: Establishing a conceptual framework for research practitioners. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 43(14), 1091–1099. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2008.051433
Stirling, A. E., & Kerr, G. A. (2008). Defining and categorizing emotional abuse in sport. European Journal of Sport Science, 8(4), 173–181. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461390802086281
U SPORTS. (2019, August). Policies and Procedures: 90 – Conduct and Enforcement.
https://en.usports.ca/HQ/Bylaws_-Policies/Policy_90.30_Complaints_Discipline-2019-2020-.pdf
Valtonen, S., & Ojajärvi, S. (2004). Do the right thing: Gendering practices in sports media.
Nordicom Review, 25(1–2), 159–174. https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2017-0279
Viczko, M., Lorusso, J. R., & McKechnie, S. (2019). The problem of the skills gap agenda in Canadian post-secondary education. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 191, 118–130. https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cjeap/article/view/62839
Wiersma-Mosley, J. D., & Jozkowski, K. N. (2019). A brief report of sexual violence among universities with NCAA Division I athletic programs. Behavioral Sciences, 9(2), Article 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs9020017
Willson, E., & Kerr, G. (2022). Body shaming as a form of emotional abuse in sport. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 20(5), 1452–1470. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2021.1979079
Willson, E., & Kerr, G. (2023). Gender-based violence in girls’ sports. Adolescents, 3(2), 278–289. https://doi.org/10.3390/adolescents3020020
Willson, E., Kerr, G., Battaglia, A., & Stirling, A. (2022). Listening to athletes’ voices: National team athletes’ perspectives on advancing safe sport in Canada. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 4, Article 840221. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2022.840221
Young, B. R., Desmarais, S. L., Baldwin J. A., & Chandler R. (2017). Sexual coercion practices among undergraduate male recreational athletes, intercollegiate athletes, and non-athletes. Violence Against Women, 23(7), 795–812. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801216651339
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Hayley Baker, Rita Gardiner, Kasey Egan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
a. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
