A Comparative Thematic Analysis of Institutional Betrayal in the National Women’s Soccer League and the Catholic Church

Abstract

Sexual abuse oftentimes occurs in institutional settings involving a power imbalance, including churches, sports, schools, and workplaces. Abuse in the Catholic Church was a reoccurring media fixture beginning in 2002 but continues to be a prominent feature even today. On September 30, 2021, The Athletic published an article documenting a coach’s sexual coercion, emotional and verbal abuse, and retaliation, exposing a toxic league culture that failed to protect its players. Negative outcomes for assault survivors can be exacerbated when institutions fail to prevent or respond appropriately to sexual assault, a phenomenon known as institutional betrayal. Using institutional betrayal theory as a context for understanding experiences, this paper presents an exploratory analysis of abuse and misconduct experiences from two separate institutions: the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the Catholic Church. This discussion offers insight into how the various dimensions of institutional betrayal appear differently in distinctive institutional settings.

Keywords

sexual harassment abuse victim-blaming survivors misconduct

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