A Comparative Thematic Analysis of Institutional Betrayal in the National Women’s Soccer League and the Catholic Church

Sexual abuse oftentimes occurs in institutional settings involving a power imbalance, including churches, sports, schools, and workplaces. Abuse in the Catholic Church was a reoccurring media fixture beginning in 2002 but continues to be a prominent feature even today. On September 30, 2021, The Ath...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inCriminal justice and behavior Vol. 51; no. 5; pp. 787 - 801
Main Author Kelly, Mia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.05.2024
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Assaults
Betrayal
Catholics
Coercion
Comparative analysis
Emotional abuse
Football
Imbalance
Misconduct
Retaliation
Sex crimes
Sexual abuse
Sexual coercion
Sports
Verbal abuse
Women
Workplaces
abuse
misconduct
victim-blaming
survivors
sexual harassment
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Sexual abuse oftentimes occurs in institutional settings involving a power imbalance, including churches, sports, schools, and workplaces. Abuse in the Catholic Church was a reoccurring media fixture beginning in 2002 but continues to be a prominent feature even today. On September 30, 2021, The Athletic published an article documenting a coach’s sexual coercion, emotional and verbal abuse, and retaliation, exposing a toxic league culture that failed to protect its players. Negative outcomes for assault survivors can be exacerbated when institutions fail to prevent or respond appropriately to sexual assault, a phenomenon known as institutional betrayal. Using institutional betrayal theory as a context for understanding experiences, this paper presents an exploratory analysis of abuse and misconduct experiences from two separate institutions: the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the Catholic Church. This discussion offers insight into how the various dimensions of institutional betrayal appear differently in distinctive institutional settings.
ISSN:0093-8548
1552-3594
DOI:10.1177/00938548241230477