Emma Thomas is a sports ethicist specialising in safeguarding in Muay Thai, and a trustee board member at Safe Sport International.
She’s also the founder of Under the Ropes, an online platform promoting safe and inclusive cultures in Muay Thai, focusing on the elimination of gender-based violence. After experiencing sexual violence from a coach during her fighting career as an athlete, she became a vocal advocate using her story to create awareness, and now helps other survivors to access resources for support.
She recently completed her master’s degree in Sports Ethics & Integrity, and for her thesis, she conducted the world’s first study on women’s experiences of sexual harassment and abuse in Muay Thai. This involved trauma-informed interviews with survivors and an analysis of safeguarding policies implemented by federations.
Through a feminist socio-ecological approach, her study examines the roles that interpersonal, organisational and societal factors play in survivors’ experiences, and the power dynamics that are present throughout. Her findings identified alarming failures by sports authorities to prevent sexual violence, sporting cultural factors that perpetuate the issue, and broader social factors that need to be addressed.
Emma’s seminar expands on this approach, using her findings, lived experience and critical lens to illustrate the importance of a holistic, collaborative and multi-layered approach to the prevention of abuse in sport, which has survivors’ well-being at its heart.
