Countering Sexual Abuse in the Labor of Athletes Through the Examples of Foreign Countries: Legal Prerequisites for Russia

This paper is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of sexual violence in professional sports in foreign countries and in Russia. According to the official statistics of the Council of Europe, every fifth child playing sports becomes a victim of sexual violence, and in more than 80% of cases, the aggressors are persons who have a relationship of trust with athletes and have some authority over them. These data illustrate the seriousness of the problem and stimulate stakeholders to take active action to combat sexual violence in sports organizations. Sport is the environment in which professional athletes spend most of their time, where they go through the main stages of personal development, in connection with which it becomes necessary to ensure the creation of a healthy and safe working environment and protect young athletes from any form of unethical behavior from the outside. The purpose of the investigation is to identify cases of sexual violence in Russian sports, as well as to develop and propose effective measures to combat them based on the practical experience of foreign countries. To achieve it, the author made an attempt to analyze the international and national regulatory framework aimed at eradicating the problem of sexual violence in the sports field, as well as the law enforcement practice of foreign states, in particular the United States, Spain and France. Particular attention is given to the study of the development of the phenomenon of sexual violence in sports in the Russian Federation. In this regard, the current normative legal acts regulating certain aspects of the problem of sexual violence were considered and real practical situations that took place in the Soviet and modern history of Russia were investigated. Based on the critical analysis and the experience of foreign countries, the author put forward proposals for improving the current Russian legislation and developing new tools to counter acts of sexual violence in sports centers.