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Statewise

Haryana

2019- 23

Manvir Singh Saini, Dec 19, 2023: The Times of India

24 sexual harassment plaints by Haryana sportswomen in 5 yrs

Chandigarh : Haryana home minister Anil Vij told the state assembly on Monday that there have been 24 complaints of sexual harassment by sportswomen in the state since 2019. These include the allegation by a sportswoman and junior athletic coach against Haryana minister and former international hockey player Sandeep Singh, which is now being heard by a court in Chandigarh. Vij was responding to a query by INLD MLA Abhay Singh Chautala, who had sought a discussion on the issue of harassment of sportswomen in Haryana. Vij said six of the 24 complaints were either withdrawn or cancelled. The complaints have been filed against coaches, sportsmen and officials. While five cases were registered in 2019, two were filed in 2020, six in 2021, three in 2022 and eight this year. Four of the accused were acquitted as the prosecu tion failed to prove the charge of sexual harassment in court while trial is on in 14 cases. Referring to the Sandeep Singh case, Vij said the incident was being probed by the Chandigarh police and the case was being tried in a court . Among the cases was one involving a Taekwondo player, who in 2019 accused her wrestling coach of sexual harassment in Gurugram. However, the complainant’s father died during this period and the prosecution failed to prove the charges. Similarly, a wrestler lodged a complaint in 2019 against her fellow wrestler and the son of a coach at Rohtak’s women police station. However, she withdrew her complaint later. The cases being tried include the one lodged by a hockey player against a coach at Kurukshetra’s women police station and a wrestler’s complaint against her coach which was registered in November 2022 in Sonipat. In both these cases, the coaches were arrested.

Wrestling

2010-2023, Jan

Sabi Hussain/ Wrestling's #MeToo reveals even/ Jan 20, 2023/ India Times- The Times of India

Of the 45 cases of sexual harassment reported at 24 centres run by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) between 2010 and 2019, 29 were against coaches.

Several sports federations such as for handball, khokho and mallakhamb still don’t have a dedicated Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).

In the case of mallakhamb, in September 2018 its

federation chief R Indoliya was removed forcibly from his position after he failed to act on sexual harassment charges levelled against him by seven girl athletes.

Indian Olympic Association’s former treasurer A

Panday had an FIR registered against him by woman handball player Seema Sharma, who accused him of raping her at the Uttar Pradesh Olympic Association’s office in Lucknow in March last year.

In May 2015, four junior female athletes entered into

a suicide pact after being harassed by their coach at a SAI hostel in Kerala’s Alappuzha.

The suicide attempt resulted in the death of 15-yearold rower Aparna Ramachandran.

In June 2022, a leading female cyclist accused

national coach RK Sharma of “inappropriate behaviour” during a training-cum-competition trip to Slovenia. The coach was later terminated by SAI after its ICC, prima facie, found him guilty of sexual misconduct.

In the same month, a junior female sailor accused a

senior coach of making her “uncomfortable” and “not behaving well” with her during the team’s month-long exposure trip to Germany.

The rising numbers of harassment complaints against its coaches have forced SAI to issue guidelines to the sports federations for ensuring safety of female athletes during foreign exposure trips and at national camps. The SAI advisory says that:

Women coaches have to mandatorily accompany

any contingent with female athletes during domestic/international travel,

NSFs should increase women coaches/support staff in national coaching camps,

A compliance officer has to be appointed in all national coaching camps and foreign exposures,

The officer’s responsibilities include communicating regularly with athletes and others to ensure that the guidelines are being followed as well as to enforce the SOP on prevention of sexual harassment in sports.

In a telling case, a minor female cyclist from

Ludhiana was forced to leave the national camp at the IG stadium in Delhi in March 2021 after her complaint against assistant coach A Singh for sexually harassing her wasn’t followed by an FIR under the POCSO Act.

The administrator of IG stadium that time, A Jyoti,

was promoted and shifted to NIS Patiala from Delhi – when the authorities should have punished her for negligence and her failure to file a police complaint against the coach concerned for molestation.

Indian wrestling is witnessing its very own #MeToo movement where the country’s top women wrestlers have accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, federation chief and BJP MP, of sexual harassment and intimidation.

The case is a grim reminder of how vulnerable India’s female athletes remain to federation bosses, coaches and support staff personnel. Their harassment has not only been a common phenomenon across both government-run sports centres and private cademies, it has even been on the rise in recent years.

Sexual harassment in Indian sports

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Statewise

Haryana

2019- 23

Wrestling

2010-2023, Jan

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