Academic Programs & Teaching

The topic of Safe Sport, as well as the prevention of interpersonal and—in particular—sexualized violence, has been an integral part of various courses and academic programs at the Institute for Sport and Sports Science for several years. The subject is addressed both theoretically and interdisciplinarily, as well as in a practice-oriented manner with concrete references to various areas of activity within sports. The long-term goal is to establish mandatory coverage of the topic as part of physical education teacher training.

Overview of Courses and Teaching Formats

• Gender, Coeducation, and Sensitive Situations in Physical Education (Dr. Frauke Mutschall): Addressing physical contact, shame, and humiliation in school and physical education classes, as well as an in-depth examination of gender and coeducation in sports.
• Sexualized Violence in Sports—Interdisciplinary Perspectives (Dr. Julia Limmeroth): Integration of the topic into a public lecture series (in collaboration with Dr. Lisa Claußen and Dr. Claudia Braun) and an interdisciplinary seminar in collaboration with the Department of Sociology.
• Prevention of Interpersonal Violence and Development of Protection Strategies (Dr. Julia Limmeroth): Practice-oriented exploration within the framework of a service-learning format in cooperation with Sportjugend Kassel.
• Introduction to Sports Psychology and Sports Sociology (Dr. Julia Limmeroth): Teaching fundamental perspectives on interpersonal violence and its prevention in sports.
• Prevention of Interpersonal Violence with a Focus on Sexualized Violence in Sports (Debar Mard and Dr. Julia Limmeroth): In-depth examination of prevention approaches and protective measures, supplemented by mandatory workshops as part of the course requirements.
• Diversity, Discrimination, and Violence in Physical Education (Debar Marf and Sebastian Brandenstein): An examination of various forms of discrimination and violence, as well as their significance for safe and inclusive physical education.
• Safe Sport in Snow Sports (Dr. Andreas Albert and Dr. Julia Limmeroth): Addressing prevention and protection in alpine skiing and snowboarding instruction as part of a required elective module.

The various course offerings illustrate that Safe Sport is not limited to individual courses but is integrated into the curriculum from different disciplinary perspectives and using various pedagogical approaches. The goal is to raise students’ awareness of risks and boundary violations, strengthen their ability to act in prevention and intervention, and prepare them to help shape safe spaces for sports and physical activity.