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According to an interim report from Germany's largest study on sexual violence in mass sport, more than a quarter of those questioned had negative experiences in connection with club sport.
This emerges from a communication from various state sports federations that published the first results of the study carried out by the Bergische Universität Wuppertal and the Ulm University Hospital.
4,367 association members from all over Germany took part in the online survey.
According to the announcement, around 26 percent of those questioned have "at least once experienced sexualized border violations or harassment (without physical contact) in the context of club sports, for example in the form of suggestive remarks or unwanted text / picture messages with sexual content."
In around 19 percent, sexual harassment or violence with physical contact occurred at least once, for example sexual contact or sexual acts against the will.
The majority stated that they had "generally good to very good experiences" with club sport.
The study also asked about other forms of violence, such as threats, verbal abuse or physical violence.
The risk of being confronted with violence evidently increases with the level: 84 percent of those questioned who were active in competitive sport on an international level reported "at least one experience of harassment or violence".
For comparison: 53 percent of those surveyed reported it in popular sport.
sak / dpa