Social media trolling affects almost a third of elite British sportswomen, BBC Sport survey finds

 

Elite British sportswomen have spoken out about "horrific abuse" on social media, telling a BBC Sport survey about constant comments on their appearance and sexist remarks questioning their right to play sport.

Almost a third of respondents to the biggest women's sport study ever carried out by BBC Sport had been trolled - a figure that has doubled since the last survey in 2015.

Some athletes had received inappropriate images and described the abuse as "threatening" and "scary".

As a result of the findings, BBC Sport has strengthened its stance on combating hate speech on its social media channels.

We have committed to blocking people bringing hate to our comments sections; we will report the most serious cases to the relevant authorities and we will work to make our accounts kind and respectful places.

• Three sportswomen speak about their experiences of social media trolling
• The full survey results

Minister for Sport Nigel Huddleston told BBC Sport: "The past few years have seen fantastic progress with women's sport starting to get the profile it deserves.