Creating Safe Sport Environments and Supporting Athlete Survivors of Sexual Assault

This presentation is CEU Eligible

There is a critical need for ongoing culture change across all levels of sport. This session explores the current landscape of interpersonal and sexual violence in sport, emphasizing its profound impact on athletes, teams, and sport systems. Students will review emerging research and recent developments in the field, examining how power dynamics, institutional cultures, and systemic barriers contribute to environments where harm can occur. The session will identify key gaps in professional knowledge and clinical competencies, review ongoing efforts by the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and other organizations to fill these gaps, and highlight ways in all practitioners within sporting environments can collaborate to better support athletes and improve safeguards. We will specifically review suggested strategies to improve competency in response to and support of athletes who experience sexual assault, aimed at increasing rates of disclosure and improved access to important medical, mental health, advocacy, and legal resources. 

Dr. Sherilyn DeStefano is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Oregon Health and Sciences University practicing both full-spectrum family medicine and sports medicine. Having worked with sports teams at all levels, she enjoys the inter-disciplinary and collaborative work of being a team physician and is currently a team physician for Portland State University, Lewis and Clark College, and Sunset High School in Beaverton, OR. She serves as Program Director for OHSU Sports Medicine Fellowship teaching future primary care sports medicine physicians and is core faculty for the Family Medicine Residency. She is passionate about areas where sports medicine and primary care intersect. A keen researcher, her scholarly work centers around sexual violence in sport, reproductive health in athletes, and musculoskeletal care and exercise during pregnancy. As a member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Subcommittee on Sexual Violence in Sport, she has been active in advancing research related to screening for sexual violence and building tools for a comprehensive response in cases where athletes experience sexual violence. 

Join us on July 20 at 1:00pm ET