M12 Using a Trauma Informed Approach

Disclosure

The act of telling someone or sharing information, not necessarily with the intent for a formal process to be initiated

• e.g. seeking emotional support, giving general awareness to those around you

Reporting

A formalized process of sharing information with the intention of something happening

• e.g. investigation, sanctions

Disclosure vs Reporting

The distinction can be blurry, especially for athletes

Critical for those in authority to clarify intent (“Is it for awareness, or do you want me to do something?”)

• Duty to Report: if a child is in imminent danger (e.g. suspected child abuse, sexual assault), adults are legally obligated to report (even if the athlete only intends to disclose)

Disclosure and Reporting Stats

From the lecture(s) categorizing abuse

• Disclosure

  • In a cohort of 196 current athletes less than half (44%) disclosed maltreatment to others

  • In a cohort of 93 retired athletes less than half (48%) disclosed maltreatment to others

• Reporting

  • In a cohort of 203 current athletes only (16%) reported maltreatment

  • In a cohort of 102 retired athletes only (13%) reported maltreatment

Why Athletes Disclose but Don’t Report (Class Discussion)

Key Reasons

1. Retaliation

2. Seeking clarity (e.g. “Is this bad or normal?”)

3. Reputational reprecussions

4. Desire for anonymity

5. Giving a warning w/o formal involvement

6. Easier to disclose to someone trusted vs. formal process

7. Wanting to be heard without the “scary process” of formal reporting

Canadian Context for Safe Sport

Pre-2020

Post-2020

Pre-2020

• No independent reporting mechanisms in place

• Sport organizations at most had volunteer harassment officers (often untrained, lacked authority, conflicted interest)

• Peter Donelly’s paper: only 5-10% of sport organizations had harassment officers despite Sport Canada mandate, no consequences for non-compliance

• Ineffective system led to cover-ups and inaction

Post-2020

Creation of independent safe sport mechanism for disclosure, reporting, and investigation, outside of sport organizations

UCCMS: mandated code covering all types of abuse

• Monitored by Sport Integrity Canada

Sport Integrity Canada

Previously branded as Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, then Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES)

• CCES’s prior mandate was anti-doping (invasive urine sampling, whereabouts reporting)

  • This history creates a lack of trust for athletes in reporting maltreatment

• Limitations

  • Only available for Canadian senior national team athletes. Leaves out club, grassroots, provincial athletes

• Goals:

  • Look after all type of integrity issues (doping, match-fixing, gambling) due to underlying factors like “win at all costs” mentality

Research on Disclosure and Reporting

Conducted by Willson and Taylor (2023)

• Analyzed social media reactions (Twitter/X, Instagram) to Athlete A documentary in 2020, specifically the #gymnastalliance hashtag

Findings on Disclosure and Reporting

Reasons for silence:

• “It’ll hurt them more than anyone else.”

• “Imagine having everything you worked for taken away from you because you said something.”

• Witnessing negative repercussions for others

• Labeling: “You’re just soft. You’re a troublemaker. You’re a liar. You can’t hack it.”

• Blame: “It’s your fault for not saying anything sooner.”

• Experiences of PTSD years later

Social Media as Disclosure: Global reach (athletes from different countries related), not just national team athletes
Solutions Proposed by Athletes: Education, proper accreditation, enforcing policies (aligned with class discussions)

Motivations for Engaging: Raise awareness, build community (including parents, coaches, athletes from other sports, physiotherapists), provide anonymity (through dedicated accounts)

National Team Athlete’s Perspectives

Published 2023 but data from 2019 (due to peer review process) by Willson, Battaglia, et al., (2023)

• Qualitative data from a survey of ~1000 national team athletes, unexpected volume of thoughtful responses to open-ended questions

National Team Athlete’s Perspectives Findings

Challenge of Not Speaking Out: Fear of being replaced, career jeopardy, culture of fear, lack of reporting avenues

Impact of Research: Provided “solid foundation” for the need for an independent mechanism, influencing government decisions

Reasons for Not Reporting:

• Culture of fear and silence

• Conflict of interest (coach close with club administrator)

• “Win at all costs” mentality protecting well-performing coaches

Recommendations:

• Non-negotiable need for an independent complaint process

• “The importance of having a third party to go to”

• Accountability measures for NSOs, preventing cover-ups (e.g. Hockey Canada’s “hush fund” to settle misconduct cases)

Athletes’ Experiences of Disclosure and Reporting

New paper by Willson, Wensel, and Kerr

• Young high-performing athletes ages 15-25 who did not make a national team

• Qualitative study, interviewed 6 athletes

Athletes’ Experiences of Disclosure and Reporting Findings

Barriers to Telling Someone

1. Unclear definitions of interpersonal violence: Athletes didn’t know if what they experienced was “bad” or “normal”

2. Culture of silence: Echoed findings from Gymnast Alliance paper

3. Fear of consequences

4. Lack of trust in the system

5. Emotional burden: Significant impact, pain, shame, apprehension, lack of energy/capacity to re-engage with the traumatic experience

Motivations for Speaking Out

1. To protect others: especially younger generations

2. Empowerment from other stories: social media or friends sharing experiences (e.g. Athlete A documentary effect)

Recommendations from Athletes

1. Education

2. Better recording systems

3. Informal support networks: Athletes more likely to confide in trusted individuals (friends, family, physio, trainers) than formal mechanisms

4. Culture change and robust protective network: Shared responsibility beyond just the athlete; coaches, administrators, and others must advocate and ensure safety

Athletes’ Experiences of Disclosure and Reporting Takeaways

1. Reporting/disclosure are complicated and context-dependent

2. Youth athletes rely on informal support over formal systems

3. Effective safeguarding requires youth-centered design and system/culture change

Trauma Informed Approach

Core Idea: Centering the experience of the person, recognizing past experiences, conveying empathy, acknowledging impact, honoring trauma and resilience

SAMHSA’s Six Principles of Trauma Informed Care

Guiding principles on how to support anyone (including athletes) who is experiencing trauma. Everyone has different needs so some people may need higher or lower aspects of each element.

1. Safety

2. Trustworthiness and Transparency

3. Peer Support

4. Collaboration and Mutuality

5. Empowerment

6. Cultural, Historical, and Gendered Aspects

Safety

Both physical and emotional safety for participant and caregiver

• Using appropriate language, not for forcing discussion, appropriate responses to disclosure

• Physical safety includes ensuring easy exits in confined spaces

Trustworthiness and Transparency

Giving appropriate warnings for sensitive subjects, being specific about next steps in reporting, clear expectations

• Building trust over time, especially with victims whose trust has been violated

Peer Support

Recognizing the impact of mutual self-help, reducing isolation, finding individuals with similar experiences (mentors, friends, family) to aid recovery and healing

Collaboration and Mutuality

Balancing power differentials as much as possible, partnering to create mutual plans, ensuring the relationship is not solely authoritative. Everyone has a role too.

Empowerment

Ensuring victims have autonomy and choices, a voice in decisions. Shared decision-making, goal setting, cultivating self-advocacy to rebuild a sense of power often lost during abuse

Cultural, Historical, and Gendered Aspects

Recognizing how culture, gender, identity impact experiences. Checking implicit biases, considering gender of care team, understanding traditional norms, addressing generational trauma.

Four R’s of Trauma-Informed Care

1. Realize the impact of trauma and potential pathways for recovery

2. Recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma

3. Respond by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices

4. Resist re-traumatization

Re-traumatization

The effect of being exposed to multiple traumatic events, where a seemingly small trigger elicits a larger, more extreme reaction due to past experiences

• Can occur from reminders (smell, word, context) that bring someone back to a past traumatic place

Secondary Trauma

Trauma-related stress reactions resulting from exposure to another individual’s traumatic experience

• e.g. practitioners in abuse prevention, highly empathetic individuals

• Can lead to burnout and mental health challenges