{"id":349896,"date":"2019-02-15T08:00:27","date_gmt":"2019-02-15T15:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=349896"},"modified":"2019-02-15T17:33:28","modified_gmt":"2019-02-16T00:33:28","slug":"response-and-management-combating-the-rise-of-sexual-harassment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/response-and-management-combating-the-rise-of-sexual-harassment\/","title":{"rendered":"Response and Management: Combating the Rise of Sexual Harassment"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Olivia McKelvey, Swimming World College Intern.<\/em><\/p>\n

On October 18, 2017, McKayla Maroney<\/strong> – U.S. Olympic gymnast – went public announcing that she was sexually assaulted by former team physician Lawrence G. Nassar<\/strong>. On January 17, 2018, WNBA All-Star guard Layshia Clarendon<\/strong> filed a civil lawsuit against University of California, alleging she was sexually assaulted by a former athletic department employee. On February 7, 2018,\u00a0Ariana Kukors<\/strong> – 2012 Olympic swim team member – reported that her former coach, Sean Hutchison<\/strong>, began sexually assaulting her when she was 16.<\/p>\n

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Photo Courtesy: The Seattle Times<\/p><\/div>\n

The trend that coined the “me too” movement was a call to action in response to Harvey Weinstein<\/strong>‘s sexual harassment charges in 2017. Since the New York Times\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0sexual allegations against the movie mogul, at least 425 prominent figures across all industries: sports, media and entertainment, politics and more have stepped forward against their abusers.<\/p>\n

These women in sport and other industries are part of thousands in a sea of voices that have taken a stand against their sexual abusers. Maroney, Claredon and Kukors are not the only ones who have come forward within the past two to three years in regards to sexual harassment. Awareness of these incidents is just the beginning of the process of culture change within sport: strict prevention and appropriate management are the desired results.<\/p>\n

USA Swimming is a Leader in Addressing the Issue<\/h2>\n

\"SafeSport\"<\/p>\n

USA Swimming is aware of the internal issues youth sports face. While taking responsibility and pinpointing coaches who have partaken in sexual misconduct is one step, another important part of the solution is an emphasis and revision of guidelines, structure and policy.<\/p>\n

USA Swimming letter to members from president and CEO Tim Hinchey<\/strong>:<\/a> \u201cLet me be clear: USA Swimming does not tolerate sexual abuse or misconduct, and I assure you that this organization is facing this extremely serious issue with one very clear goal \u2013 protecting children and athletes.\u201d -February 22, 2018<\/p>\n

With that being said, below is a list of current policies, rules and regulations within USA Swimming aimed to protect athletes and provide a framework for coaches and other swimming officials to handle the matter correctly:<\/p>\n