Frequently Asked Questions

Our mission is to bring awareness, accountability, and transparency to sexual violence against athletes at all levels. Our work is athlete survivor-founded, survivor-led and trauma-informed, and we carry out our work through three pillars that support The Assist’s mission: education, resources, and advocacy.

The Assist was founded by athlete survivors that want to make changes in the sport world and make sport safer for all. The Assist is unique in several ways:

• Trauma-informed and survivor-led in all we do – The Assist uses a trauma-informed approach and has athlete survivors provide feedback on what the organization does, including the creation of resources, our advocacy work, and our delivery of technical assistance.
• Works with all survivors across all levels of all sports – The Assist is not only for women who have survived trauma,but for all athletes and people who have been impacted by trauma in sports.
• Independent resources and watchdog – The Assist keeps an independent eye on the formation and functioning of safeguarding entities.
• Proven trusted resources that respond with a trauma-informed approach – The Assist has been the resource trusted by hundreds of survivors in sport. Athlete survivors and others impacted by abuse in sport continue to contact The Assist for support and connection to resources.

Our goal is to end sexual assault against all athletes by ensuring perpetrators and enablers are held accountable, creating transparency in reporting and process, advocating for change to protect survivors, and building safer sports for all.

In January 2018, more than 500 women came forward about the abuse they had experienced at the hands of the now defamed USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University physician who was convicted of sexually abusing hundreds of female athletes spanning three decades.

After coming forward with their stories, more than 40 survivors decided to harness the pain from their trauma and work to ensure no athlete experiences sexual violence again. And from that, The Army of Survivors was born. In the following months, the survivors worked to gain non-profit status for The Army of Survivors. It has since grown into an international organization working to bring awareness and accountability to sexual violence against athletes on behalf of survivors across the country and world.

In 2025, The Army of Survivors became The Athlete Survivors’ Assist to better reflect the full scope of our mission: to advocate, assist, and drive systemic change in sport, while remaining grounded in the strength and leadership of survivor athletes. We strive to be The Assist every athlete survivor might need in finding healing, support, and justice.

While our name has evolved, our purpose has not. We continue to be the only national organization led by athlete survivors of sexual violence. Our work still centers survivor voices, and we remain committed to ending abuse in sport through trauma-informed education, policy advocacy, and institutional accountability.

The Survivor Athlete’s Assist provides resources for survivors and their allies, advocates for culture change in sport, educates communities on preventing sexual abuse, and strengthens the long-term sustainability of survivor-led work. This includes curricula for coaches, training and technical assistance for safeguarding sport entities, and facilitating listening sessions for athlete survivors.

We have built a national movement to protect athletes by amplifying survivor voices, exposing the widespread abuse in sport, and equipping coaches, parents/caregivers, and healthcare professionals with the tools to prevent it.

Survivor stories are at the heart of everything we do. We honor their courage by not only amplifying their voices but by walking alongside them in their healing journeys. Through resources, peer support, and connection to a community that understands, we help survivors access what they need, on their terms. Whether they are ready to speak out, seek justice, or simply be heard, we are here to offer support.

Our advocacy has directly contributed to the passage of landmark legislation, including the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act, the Speak Out Act, and the Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act. We’ve also addressed world leaders at the United Nations to call for a global bill of rights for survivors.

We also work at the ground level, developing tools and programs that support prevention and awareness. Through our educational resources, we equip athletes, parents, and healthcare professionals to know and respond to signs of abuse. We also developed the Compassionate Coach® program, a trauma-informed course designed to help coaches create a safe environment for athletes that prioritized their well-being.

We have held, and continue to hold, listening sessions with athlete survivors to center their expertise and experience. We provide guidance and best practices strategies to safeguarding entities in both the US and worldwide.

While our mission is to bring awareness, accountability, and transparency regarding sexual violence against athletes at all levels, our goal is for our work to impact survivors of any type of sexual violence. We distribute and create resources, educate leaders on laws and bills that protect athletes from sexual violence, and build awareness about sexual abuse. Our partnerships with other organizations and on broader projects that support our mission ensure that we support all survivors, with our organization filling the void and broadcasting the voices of survivors in sport. If you need additional support, you can learn more about our resources.

No, we strive to have a national and international impact with our work.

The Athlete Survivors’ Assist is dedicated to supporting survivors of sexual violence through resources, advocacy, and education.

Your donation provides tools and information that empower survivors, advocate for laws that expand access to justice, and promote education that helps all people and communities understand, prevent, and respond to sexual violence in sport.

Our mission is multifaceted, and so is the work that drives it. We dedicate time and care to creating resources and programs that support survivors, educate communities, and help prevent abuse in sport.

Some examples of work we do at The Athlete Survivors’ Assist:

• Create tools and resources for athlete survivors
• Develop guides for parents/guardians, caregivers, allies, coaches, and healthcare professionals to recognize and report signs of abuse
• Creating programs like Compassionate Coach® which educates coaches on how to create trauma-informed environments in sport, as well as how to recognize and respond to abuse
• Championing survivor stories and the right to athlete safety at the global and national level through our legislative impact.
• Educating state and community leaders to raise awareness
• Influencing policy with National Governing Bodies (NGBs) to effect widespread change across all sport environments
• Providing best practices and trauma-informed strategies to sport safeguarding entities

The nonprofit was incorporated in the state of Michigan on Aug. 2, 2018. We received 501(c)(3) status from the IRS on Aug. 8, 2020. Contact your tax professional regarding tax benefits of donations.

13% of all student athletes are survivors of sexual violence through their participation in sport. That’s nearly 6 million young athletes.

Any reported numbers are likely low due to underreporting. Only 10% of athletes who experienced unwanted sexual behavior during their sports involvement submitted a formal complaint or report (according to the U.S. Center for SafeSport).

Athletes face unique risks when it comes to abuse because of broken systems, power dynamics between coaches and athletes, and a sport culture that expects athletes to be super-human.

Too often, coaches and sports institutions are only concerned about winning, and willingly put athletes at risk of physical and mental harm. And because sports institutions give coaches too much power, abuse is common and goes unchecked.

You can learn more about the vulnerabilities of abuse in sport in our Survivor Athlete Power and Control Wheel.

Source: Communicating about Child Athlete Wellbeing: Challenges, Opportunities,and Emerging Recommendations by Frameworks. January, 2021.

Only 10% of athletes who experienced unwanted sexual behavior during their sports involvement submitted a formal complaint or report (according to the U.S. Center for SafeSport). Underreporting of sexual abuse is common for many reasons. Within sport, barriers to reporting may include:

• Fear of retaliation
• Not understanding it was assault or abuse
• Not knowing how or where to report
• Fear of being sidelined or kicked off the team
• Fear that reporting would jeopardize their career
• Threats from perpetrators (financial, physical, or emotional)

According to the American Psychological Association, sexual abuse is unwanted sexual activity with perpetrators using force, making threats, or taking advantage of victims who are unable to give consent.
Sexual abuse is more likely to occur between people who know each other, not strangers. More than 90% of survivors know their perpetrators.

Survivors/victims’ immediate reactions to sexual abuse may include shock, fear, and disbelief. Survivors exhibit these emotions in various ways that may or may not appear distressing to untrained observers. Long-term effects of sexual abuse and rape include feelings of anxiety, fear, powerlessness, and post-traumatic stress disorder. While efforts to treat sex offenders remain unpromising, psychological interventions for survivors—especially group therapy—appears to be effective.