EMMA THOMAS (she/her)
founder
Who Am I?
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Former Fighter
I’m a former Muay Thai fighter who lived in Thailand for 12 years, during which I fought professionally from 2012 to 2017.
Writer
I’ve been writing about gendered issues in Muay Thai since 2013. My writing includes personal experiences, journalism, Thai news with English translation, and documentation of women’s Muay Thai history.
Survivor
I have lived experience of sexual violence in Muay Thai. This first-hand knowledge puts survivor-centred and trauma-informed principles at the heart of my work.
Advocate
I have spent more than ten years advocating for gender equality and the elimination of sexual violence in Muay Thai, through personal storytelling, collaboration with other survivors, and highlighting cases of abuse and misconduct in the sport.
Sports Ethicist
I hold a master’s degree in Sports Ethics & Integrity. My studies combine sports philosophy, ethical training and social science, and my work explores ethical issues in Muay Thai through a feminist lens.
Safeguarding Officer and Consultant
I’m trained as a sports safeguarding officer, and have completed completed the IOC’s Safeguarding Officer in Sport course.
I provide consultancy services to advance survivor-centred safeguarding approaches, specialising in the context of Muay Thai.
The Story of
Under the Ropes
The history of Under the Ropes, and how my work has developed since the site’s launch in 2013.
2013
Blog Launch
Under the Ropes began as a blog in 2013, with articles describing my personal journey as a fighter in Thailand, exploring broader issues of gender inequality and sexual violence in Muay Thai, and documenting women’s Muay Thai history. The site was strategically launched on August 12th, then the only day of the year that women’s Muay Thai was platformed in Thailand with all-women’s fight events in celebration of the Queen’s birthday.
2017
Disclosure, Activism and Survivor Advocacy
In 2017, I published an article on my experience of being sexually assaulted by a Muay Thai coach several years earlier. As a result, I was invited to engage as a survivor speaker at various events in Bangkok, and Under the Ropes developed into an advocacy platform for this voluntary work, which also allowed me to cultivate a network of fellow survivors in Muay Thai, as well as survivor advocates and support services in other sectors. In the absence of any pathways for support for survivors in Muay Thai, I began signposting survivors in the sport to organisations providing emotional, legal, and financial assistance.
2020-2022
From Response to Prevention
Several years of initial advocacy work and engaging with other survivors in Muay Thai prompted me to move from a responsive approach to a preventative one. I then began to explore ways to conduct research on sexual violence in Muay Thai to generate data that could both explore the problem and encourage the sport’s authorities to address it.
2023
Academic Journey
In 2023, I was awarded an Erasmus Mundus scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in Sports Ethics & Integrity in Europe, with the motivation of conducting research on sexual violence in Muay Thai, and moved from Thailand to Belgium to begin my studies. I focused on safeguarding throughout the two-year course, and was able to present my work at international conferences for sport integrity and philosophy.
2024
Safe Sport Specialisation
My master’s programme gave me the opportunity to explore theory and practice of safeguarding in sport, and I was appointed as a trustee board member of Safe Sport International, a charity and leading organisation working towards safe sport. I accepted this position with the motivation of contributing to a global movement for safe sport as survivor-advocate, researcher and studying sports ethicist.
2025
Professional Development in Safeguarding
For my master’s thesis, I conducted a qualitative study on survivors’ experiences of sexual harassment and abuse in Muay Thai, which involved interviews alongside an analysis of safeguarding policies by national and international Muay Thai federations. I defended my thesis at the International Olympic Academy in Olympia.
After completing my studies, I sought further professional development in the field of safeguarding in sport, and was accepted into the IOC’s Safeguarding Officer in Sport Programme. I was also appointed as a trustee of Sexual Assault & Abuse Services Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes, a UK charity providing support services to survivors.
2026
Safeguarding and Lived-Experience Consultancy
After 13 years of voluntary work on Under the Ropes as a passion project, the experience and accreditations I’d acquired along the way enabled me to take my work a step further. I pivoted from a primarily activist approach to also venturing into consultancy, registering Under the Ropes as a limited company to facilitate and sustain this work.
I was appointed to the Advisory Council of the Sport & Rights Alliance Athletes Network for Safer Sports, as well as the Safeguarding Committee for World Boccia, in addition to my trustee charity roles.
I began providing safeguarding and lived-experience consultancy services to work with grassroots combat sports gyms on developing safeguarding policies and practices, as well as sports organisations on advancing survivor-centred approaches.