Wondering what the policy is on the young people/any people past 18 that are getting sexually harassed/assaulted etc. on the circuit. How is the policy so strict for an 18 yr old but a 20yr old would get no help? Am i missing something there? Does the policy apply to anyone or just kids? Last time I checked, a lot of people in me too had abuse starting over the age of 18, especially with the power imbalances like in coach/student relationship.
In general with such rules, the key points are mutual consent and being in position of authority.
For instance as a university professor I am not allowed to be in a consensual relationship with any of my students no matter their age. This is a workplace rule, but not an actual law, because my students aren’t minors.
I am allowed to be in a consensual relationship with colleagues but I am not allowed to harass or annoy or violently assault anyone regardless of rank, colleagues or students or high level administrators. This is a workplace rule, and also actual laws cover the more extreme acts on this spectrum.
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The U.S. Center for SafeSport’s code has rules that protect adult competitors too, including policies specific to minor athletes who turn 18 while participating in a sport. Right now there is a lot of discussion around a specific document called the Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention (MAAP) policy because it’s new. That one consists solely of rules designed to protect athletes under 18.
I really encourage everyone to set aside some time to read the SafeSport Code and MAAP documents cover to cover. I feel like a lot of the anxiety around it stems from hearing about the policies in the abstract vs. reading the actual words. The Code is very long, so you may have to break it up in chunks, but it’s certainly worth our time.
Quick edit: You can find the full PDF document of the code on SafeSport’s website; they make it kind of hard to link directly to it but it’s the 5th policy document linked on that page.
One more: This is the USEF’s policy document for SafeSport, which includes the MAAP in addition to the specific rules that apply to all USEF members and various associated people.
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I always interpreted the age to mean legal adult. Not if you are still eligible to show as a junior based on when one’s birthday is for competition purposes. So an 18 year old is in the same category as a 20 year old despite the fact that the 18 year old is still eligible to compete as a junior.
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But assault and harassment is always illegal, no matter if the victim is 15 or 25 or 45.
Does SS say anything about consensual relationships between coach and adult student(s)?
In my job this is a firing offence, or at least a “resign quietly before we fire you” offence. We had a case about ten years ago, repeat offender, young woman professor actually. She was sent on her way but very quietly.
I think you could date an enrolled students in an above board way if they weren’t enrolled in your classes, just like the husband or wife of a professor can obviously attend the college, just not take classes from their spouse.
So what does SS say about consenual relationships between coach and student? Riding students marrying their coaches is not uncommon, going into business together, etc. It doesn’t have the implications for institutional integrity on grading that would required keeping your spouse out of the college classes you teach.
If they then have a messy divorce including uttering threats, physical violence, etc., there are real world laws about that. But if I rightly recall, this kind of behavior would also be penalized by SS even between adults.
The thing is, laws need clear cut off points which is why there is a legal “age of consent” (which is higher now I think than when I was a teen and we understood it to be 14).
Yes, it does. Section IV, subsection F, item 1.
An Adult Participant violates this Policy by engaging in an intimate or romantic relationship where a Power Imbalance exists.
Definition of Power Imbalance, from the same document (section III, subjection J):
A Power Imbalance may exist where, based on the totality of the circumstances, one person has supervisory, evaluative, or other authority over another. Whether there is a Power Imbalance depends on several factors, including but not limited to: the nature and extent of the supervisory, evaluative or other authority over the person; the actual relationship between the parties; the parties’ respective roles; the nature and duration of the relationship; the age of the parties involved; whether there is an aggressor; whether there is a significant disparity in age, size, strength, or mental capacity.
Once a Coach-Athlete relationship is established, a Power Imbalance is presumed to exist throughout the Coach-Athlete relationship (regardless of age) and is presumed to continue for Minor Athletes after the Coach-Athlete relationship terminates until the Athlete reaches 20 years of age. A Power Imbalance may exist, but is not presumed, where an Intimate Relationship existed before the sport relationship (e.g., a relationship between two spouses or life partners that preceded the sport relationship).
Yes, that’s good and clear. I am going to guess that if 25 year old student married 30 year old coach and lived happily ever after as business partners, this isn’t something an outside onlooker could complain about but rather that would only be an issue if and when things got messy between the couple.
Understood. I guess I was referring to a situation of an older coach hitting on or trying to solicit unwanted sexual favors from a student/person with a power imbalance. Can that be reported even though the one without the power is over 18?
Yes.
Of course, there can be situations where the client is actually the one with power over the trainer, and situations where it is consensual and no power imbalance exists, where both the client and the trainer are free to engage or leave the relationship but that they are both on board.
And - just curious - who will be protecting the 16 year old that is being sexually harrassed by the 17 year old in the next aisle?
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The barn needs a clear policy and the child needs to be able to report this to a coach or barn manager who will take effective action.
That might work if they both ride at the same barn. Otherwise, maybe not so much.
Oh is this at a show? The child should report it to their trainer, and the trainer should talk to the other child’s trainer and the show stewards.
Note that SS is a slow working complaints policy. It is not police on the ground. If a person is being bullied, harassed, assaulted etc by a stranger at a show then that needs to be stopped at once in real time, and by intelligent appropriate adult intervention. Especially when it involves children.
In this case, if the harassers coach reads them the riot act on the spot that will likely have the desired effect and no official complaint need be made. The fact that a complaint could be made though is an incentive for the coach to act.
Safe Sport also covers that scenario.
It is a violation of this Policy for a Participant to engage in Sexual Misconduct. Sexual Misconduct offenses include, but are not limited to:
- Sexual or Gender-related Harassment
- Non-consensual Sexual Contact (or attempts to commit the same)
- Non-consensual Sexual Intercourse (or attempts to commit the same)
- Sexual Exploitation
- Bullying or hazing, or other inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature
If you read the full policy, you’ll find that none of those items include an age limit, because no matter who is performing the behavior, it’s against Safe Sport code (and thus USEF rules). If an incident were reported to Safe Sport/USEF and the investigation revealed misconduct, the perpetrator can be suspended or even banned for life. Criminal charges are also possible, as the Center for Safe Sport reports all allegations of a sexual nature related to children to law enforcement.
