Students develop campaign against sexual violence in sport

Posters and website aim to raise awareness of inappropriate behaviour

Sexual violence is a widespread problem in sport. Studies show that between 20 and 30 per cent of all athletes become victims of sexual violence during their sporting careers. It usually starts innocently enough. After a competition, the coach pays a nice compliment on the athletic performance. But over time, the comments become more personal. Those affected often only realise that a line has been crossed much later. Across Germany, initiatives and clubs are working to protect their athletes from assault. Students at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, in cooperation with the Bremen State Sports Federation, the Bremen Sports Office and the Bremen Football Association, have developed a campaign to raise awareness of the issue of sexual violence in sport among clubs and young athletes. On 16 September, the ‘Watch. Act. Protect.’ campaign will kick off with a guerrilla campaign at various sports venues in Bremen and Bremerhaven. 

The campaign was developed in the ‘Cross-media Design’ module of the Digital Media Production degree programme. Under the guidance of their lecturer Ralf C. Schreier, the students spent a long time refining the idea. "We had a lot of freedom in the design because we received very few specifications from our cooperation partners. This allowed us to get really creative. We were allowed to present our finished ideas at a meeting attended by politicians. We were very proud that everyone there was so enthusiastic about our campaign," says Jana Gundlack, who helped develop the campaign.

The students' campaign is striking: typical phrases used by perpetrators to entangle their victims in various stages of escalation in abusive situations are provocatively displayed as oversized quotes at potential crime scenes. The campaign uses QR codes to draw attention to the project website watchactprotect.de. There, interested parties and those affected can find out more in a multiple-choice quiz and also find their way to specific offers of help. In addition, posters and stickers will draw attention to the topic and the project website over a longer period of time. These can be downloaded from the website, along with a guide for coaches.

Intentional behaviour is not always behind inappropriate conduct. The boundaries of what is considered inappropriate are individual. Are coaches allowed to hug their athletes without asking? Are team meetings in the changing room okay? And what about showering together? The students have compiled these and other questions in their quiz. ‘We want to encourage people to classify these situations: Would this be inappropriate for me or not? In the answers, we then show that there can be other perceptions. Just because I don't mind a hug, for example, doesn't mean it's okay for others,’ says Jana Gundlack.  In this context, it is important to question one's own behaviour: ‘The clubs put a lot of effort into educational work. But unfortunately, this can also lead to coaches feeling offended when they are told that they should no longer do certain things.’ 

Further information is available at watchactprotect.de.