Key sports agencies and institutions must make a firm stand of zero tolerance of sexual harassment and assault by creating an ecosystem that both prevents and addresses the issue, said the All Women’s Action Society (Awam).
"The preventive prong should take the form of sexual harassment training programmes that inculcate awareness on types, causes and channels of redress of sexual harassment.
"The restorative prong should take the form of complaints and inquiry mechanisms as well as whistleblower policies," said Awam in a statement yesterday.
The NGO was reacting to a report by Malaysiakini of accounts by former national swimmers Cindy Ong and others who had to endure "despicable" acts by coaching staff.
Ong alleged that the abuse began since she was a teenager but she did not know how to handle the situation at the time.
Awam said that putting in place key mechanisms that were accountable and survivor-centric would be crucial to enable survivors to come forward with reports of their violations and seek redress.
"Furthermore, there should be adequate access to counselling services so that survivors can obtain the psychosocial support they need," it added.
Awam highlighted that the National Sports Council (MSN) managed all coaches and athletes under the Youth and Sports Ministry and attention must be paid to this institution to ensure that they have proper anti-sexual harassment policies in place and that they were implemented properly and were accountable.
In responding to the revelations, Youth and Sports Minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican promised that there would be no cover-up in investigations against alleged sexual abuse in the sports arena.
He said he was "disturbed", "angry" and "disappointed" to read the accounts adding, "There is no room for this to continue to happen and to disrupt the works of our country's talent and sports development."
Reezal said he has instructed the National Sports Council (NSC) to contact Ong and assist her in lodging a police report against the alleged perpetrator.
Awam also called for more diversity among individuals holding key decision-making positions in the NSC which it said was primarily made up of middle-aged men.
This diversity, it said, was the way forward in addressing issues of gender-based violence in sports.
"In addition, the NSC should also have a proper department with experts who will deal purely with complaints of sexual harassment in the sporting arena as past studies have revealed that our athletes do experience sexual harassment and are extremely unsure of how to deal with these violations and who to seek help from."
Awam also pointed out that the majority of survivors are male.
In the 1990s, former national team coach C Ramanathan was charged with molesting two junior athletes. He was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted.
After a series of appeals, his jail term was reduced and he was released in 2011.
Four years ago, former national diving coach Huang Qiang was charged with raping a diving athlete.
According to China Press, a witness testified that the victim hesitated before reporting the crime because she was afraid that the offender would use his connections to destroy her career.
Awam has played a role in highlighting the widespread nature of this abuse and also detailed its recommendations to the ministry and the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) while running programmes such as sexual harassment training, advocacy to strengthen internal policies on anti-sexual harassment and the institutionalisation of safe spaces for zero tolerance for sexual harassment for PCM staff, parathletes, coaches and affiliates.
"Instances of positive engagement with Awam have already been demonstrated in 2020 not only through the aforementioned sexual harassment programme efforts but also through advocacy-based events such as the 7th International Sports Medicine & Sports Science Conference 2020 (Virtual Edition) that was hosted by the Institut Sukan Negara (a ministry agency) and for which Awam was invited as a conference speaker to speak on the issue of sexual harassment in the Malaysian sports arena.
"The National Sports Vision 2030 should have a standalone pillar focusing on athletes’ physical and mental health safety, including making sure that the sports arena is a safe space that is free of sexual harassment," added Awam. - Mkini
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