A new report has revealed that the majority of athletes in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda have faced sexual or gender-based violence SGBV, exposing deep-rooted abuse within East Africas sporting world.
The study, led by Nairobi's Aga Khan University, comes amid growing attention to cases of sexual violence in East Africa, particularly in Kenya where several high-profile female athletes have died violently in recent years.
Surveying 748 individuals, mostly aged between 18 and 34, and conducting in-depth interviews with 18 participants, the report found that almost 30 percent of those surveyed had competed at a professional or semi-professional level. Disturbingly, 62 percent reported either personally experiencing violence or knowing colleagues who had.
The report described SGBV in East African sports as deeply entrenched, fuelled by patriarchal attitudes, impunity for offenders, and a widespread culture of silence. In Kenya, 69 percent of respondents reported incidents of harm-including verbal, physical, and sexual abuse-a sharp rise from 43 percent recorded in 2022 government figures. Tanzania showed a similarly high rate at 62 percent, while Uganda reported 48 percent.
Researchers identified power imbalances, exploitative relationships with coaches and sponsors, and isolation from support systems as key factors enabling abuse. Coaches were named among the primary perpetrators.