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Moderate harassment targeting women athletes with a written, athlete-centred process: set clear rules, assign staff to handle reports, reduce unwanted exposure when the athlete wants that help, assess each incident in context, and escalate credible safety concerns. Platform tools can limit contact or flag rule-breaking content, but they do not replace an organization’s responsibility to support the athlete.
Build a policy with clear ownership
Write down what your organization considers prohibited conduct and who is responsible for responding. Use plain language and include gendered abuse, sexualized attacks, threats, doxxing or disclosure of private information, impersonation, and repeated targeted contact where they violate your rules. Identify the staff member or team that receives reports, makes moderation decisions, and handles escalation.
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Specify possible consequences and provide a documented route for complaints and referrals. The International Olympic Committee’s safeguarding consensus identifies clear violations and consequences, complaint mechanisms, support information, education, designated personnel, monitoring, and athlete participation as policy components. Its 2024 consensus also emphasizes athlete-centred safeguarding and trauma- and violence-informed practice (IOC consensus, 2016; IOC consensus, 2024).
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Give athletes choice and control
Ask the athlete what help they want and what exposure they want to avoid. Depending on the platform and the athlete’s preferences, options may include limiting comments, filtering keywords, muting or blocking accounts, hiding replies, or temporarily changing notification settings. These controls can reduce unwanted interactions; they should not make the athlete responsible for investigating, confronting, or managing an abuser.
#1 Best Overall
Meta says Facebook and Instagram rules cover bullying and harassment, violent threats, and hate speech, including gendered or misogynistic attacks and threats of physical or sexual violence. The company also describes tools for managing comments and unwanted interactions. These are Meta’s descriptions of its own policies and products; features and menu labels can change (Meta, 11 June 2024).
X documents controls including muting accounts or words, blocking, filtering notifications, hiding replies, and reporting content (X safety tools). Choose controls with the athlete rather than treating them as a substitute for organizational action.
Rank #2
Make reports specific and reviewable
Give athletes and staff a straightforward way to report an incident. Ask for the post or message, account, platform, time, and relevant context. Preserve the information in line with the organization’s privacy and safeguarding procedures, and limit access to people who need it to respond.
When content may violate a platform’s rules, use its reporting process as well as the organization’s own reporting route. X explains that reporting a post or list does not automatically suspend an account and that the person reporting may not always hear the outcome (X reporting guidance). Set expectations accordingly: a report alerts the platform, but does not guarantee removal or account action.
Triage conduct, context, and risk
Distinguish criticism or disagreement from targeted abuse, repeated harassment, sexualized attacks, and threats. Review each case in context rather than relying on a single keyword or an assumed universal threshold. Relevant factors include:
- How often the conduct occurs and whether it is repeated or coordinated.
- Whether it includes identifying information, location references, or other details that could increase risk.
- Whether there is a credible indication of imminent harm.
- Whether the conduct appears connected to a wider pattern or a specific event.
Document the basis for decisions so similar cases can be handled consistently. No universal threat-scoring rubric is established here; organizations should use their safeguarding procedures and seek appropriate professional advice when risk is unclear.
Rank #4
Escalate safety concerns and offer support
Route credible threats, stalking, disclosure of private information, or other urgent concerns to the organization’s safeguarding lead and appropriate safety professionals. If there is immediate danger, follow local emergency procedures. Offer the athlete trusted offline and professional support, and listen to what they say they need. X’s user guidance likewise encourages taking abuse seriously, seeking support from a trusted person or appropriate professional, and reporting particularly harassing or threatening content.
UNESCO identifies protection from harassment, misconduct, and abuse as one of three strands of its work on women and sport, alongside equal participation and empowerment (UNESCO, Women and Sports). In a 2024 article, UNESCO reported that 87% of online abuse on Twitter during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games targeted female athletes. That figure applies to that platform and event, as reported in 2024; it is not a current or universal estimate for women athletes across sports and platforms (UNESCO, 2024).
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Review whether the response works
Track response times, how reports were handled, platform outcomes, repeat conduct, support offered, and athlete feedback. Review whether interventions reduced unwanted exposure and whether decisions were consistent. Use the results to improve policy, staff preparation, and reporting routes. The IOC’s 2024 consensus includes evaluating the effectiveness of prevention and response; an event-based service should not be assumed to provide continuous monitoring to every athlete or organization. The IOC’s 2026 mental-health consensus describes a Mindful Social Media e-learning course and an abuse detection and response service implemented during the Games as of 2024 (IOC consensus, 2026).
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