Researcher Dr. Veera Eurlén raises the question of whether there would have been a discussion like the current one about cases of harassment in sports circles in the last decade.
The researcher estimates that the change in the media has a significant impact on the fact that sexual harassment in the sports world rises more in the public discussion than before.
Doctor of research Veera Ehrlén is currently investigating the change in sports journalism and the role of sports media in the work against gender and sexual harassment, funded by the Kone Foundation. He estimates that the development of the media has influenced the handling of harassment cases
There have been cases in the public eye at a steady pace. Most recently, on Tuesday, there was news about the harassment that happened in Vaasa Palloseura and Turku Inter.
– I don’t think that the cases have increased. Victims now dare to tell more about their experiences, says Ehrlén.
Would the cases have been printed on wool in 2013?
Veera Ehrlén asks whether those who experienced harassment would have dared to tell about it 5–10 years ago and whether clubs or sports associations would have done anything about it.
– And would the sports media have picked up on these cases at all? The sports media has started to report more cases. It is influenced by social movements and a change in the attitude climate, especially the me too movement.
Ehrlén sees that sports journalism has had to develop, because in the new media environment reporting on match events is no longer of interest to the public as it used to be. Nowadays, match results can also be easily found out from sources other than the traditional media, so journalism has found a living space by expanding its gaze to events outside the playing fields.
The male ideal can influence behavior
Researcher Veera Ehrlén estimates that heterosexual, competitive and tough men are still admired in Finnish sports culture. These, on the other hand, have had the opportunity to exercise power over other groups.
Ehrlén believes that these narrow ideals and intraspecies norms can fuel bad behavior. In some sports, the ideals appear stronger than in others.
– I think it’s really good that inappropriate behavior and sports’ shortcomings are talked about in the media and that this kind of behavior has consequences in sports and sports culture.