Sexual Harassment in Sports to be punished

What the sports movies have been showing is not false is once again proved. Many sports bios have shown how coaches/board members pressure sportspeople. It is now revealed that 45 such cases over 24 SAI institutes have been reported over the past decade. These are just reported cases. Most of the cases go unreported since the athletes are pressured not to complaint. Manish Tiwari of Congress raised this question in parliament asking the sports minister as to what action has been taken on sexual harassment of sports persons in Sports Authority of India.

Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju responded that the cases have come to his attention as well and he has given directions to clear all pending sexual harassment cases related to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) by February end. He promised stringent action on the offenders. He said that female athletes remain vulnerable to harassment and ensured steps to prevent all kinds of sexual advances and harassment in the ministry.

Most disturbing is the fact that it is considered a tradition or a culture in SAI by the perpetrators. It is not just a gender bias but a deeply institutionalized accepted tradition which is not present in the rulebook. Many female athletes clearly tell that without a coach, they cannot expect to move forward. Female athletes are forced to accept that they have to do something to move forward. Hence many suffer silently to get selected in the team. They cannot complain because their perpetrators remain in power for long and complaints take years to get resolved.

Many coaches do help the athletes to move forward as long as they offer sexual favors to them. Many accept silently since these coaches use their influence to stick along and get the complaints withdrawn or kept pending while they move ahead in their careers. The athletes and their families are intimidated to silence.