Sport governing bodies, such as the International Olympic Committee, have recommended youth sport organizations develop policies, procedures, and/or ethical guidelines to prevent and respond to sexual harassment and abuse (SHA) experienced by young athletes. To our knowledge, no studies have investigated SHA policies or procedures in U.S. youth sport programs. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine U.S. youth sport programs’ policies regarding SHA. The results are based on a cross-sectional survey completed by youth sport coaches ( n = 200) from various organizations (e.g., public recreation organizations, private nonprofit organizations, and interscholastic sports). Findings suggest that most organizations have several SHA policies, such as education and training requirements, written policies and codes of conduct regarding coach-athlete sexual relationships, and formal complaint and disclosure procedures for investigating SHA. A bivariate analysis suggests that the presence of several SHA policies was associated with an increased number of self-reported SHA incidents. Moreover, youth sport programs located in urban areas had a greater extent of SHA policies compared to those located in suburban or rural areas. These results are discussed with respect to the potential relationships between the presence of policies and increased cases of SHA. Also, we discussed advocating for equitable resources among youth sport programs regardless of geographic and/or demographic factors. Future research should identify social and cultural barriers that inhibit the successful implementation of SHA policies. While developing and implementing SHA policies is a step in the right direction, it may not be used as the only means to address this complex, systematic, and structural issue.

中文翻译：

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美国青少年体育项目中的性骚扰/虐待政策

国际奥委会等体育管理机构建议青年体育组织制定政策、程序和/或道德准则，以预防和应对年轻运动员遭受的性骚扰和虐待 (SHA)。据我们所知，尚无研究调查美国青少年体育项目中的 SHA 政策或程序。这项探索性研究的目的是探讨美国青少年体育项目关于 SHA 的政策。结果基于来自不同组织（例如公共娱乐组织、私人非营利组织和校际体育运动）的青少年体育教练（n = 200）完成的横断面调查。调查结果表明，大多数组织都有多项 SHA 政策，例如教育和培训要求、有关教练-运动员性关系的书面政策和行为准则，以及调查 SHA 的正式投诉和披露程序。双变量分析表明，多项 SHA 政策的存在与自我报告的 SHA 事件数量增加有关。此外，与郊区或农村地区的青少年体育项目相比，城市地区的青少年体育项目具有更大范围的 SHA 政策。这些结果是针对政策的存在与 SHA 案例增加之间的潜在关系进行讨论的。此外，我们还讨论了倡导青少年体育项目之间的资源公平，无论地理和/或人口因素如何。未来的研究应确定阻碍 SHA 政策成功实施的社会和文化障碍。虽然制定和实施 SHA 政策是朝着正确方向迈出的一步，但它可能不是解决这一复杂、系统性和结构性问题的唯一手段。