According to a World Athletics study, female athletes were the target of 87 per cent of the social media abuse that athletes faced during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The study, which was conducted in collaboration with data science company Signify Group, found that the abuse included sexist, racist, transphobic and homophobic content and false accusations.
The research analysed 161 (81 women, 80 men) Twitter accounts of current and former athletes participating in the Tokyo Games. Out of 23 athletes who were abused online by trolls, 16 were women. What’s more, 63 per cent of the total abuse was directed at two Black female athletes.
Out of 132 discriminatory posts, 10 per cent of abuse consisted of transphobic and homophobic comments.
“When we published our Safeguarding Policy earlier this month, I said athletics clubs, schools and community sports environments should be safe and happy places for those in our sport,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.
“This research is disturbing in so many ways but what strikes me the most is that the abuse is targeted at individuals who are celebrating and sharing their performances and talent as a way to inspire and motivate people,” Coe added.
World Athletics concluded that it would delve deeper into this to create a safer and non-discriminatory digital environment for athletes.