‘Safe Sport’ is timely action
View(s):
Jayanthi Kuru Utumpala
What does ‘Safe Sport’ mean? What can constitute harassment and abuse? What tools have the IOC developed to protect athletes from harassment and abuse in sport? Remember: Harassment and abuse has no place in sport. Let’s work together to promote safe sport for everyone. These are the sentiments that are aired by sports’ pinnacle organisation the International Olympic Committee on the subject of harassment and abuse.
When the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka’s (NOCSL) Women’s Committee decided take the bull by its horns they went direct to its primary cause Harassment and Abuse to give the Lankan sporting public the right idea of what they meant by calling Harassment and Abuse. Nonetheless the planning segment of this project was done responsibly with a lot of crosschecking and soul searching. The committee comprised sports personnel and media personnel and in turn they discussed the issue with a lot of sportsmen and women before going public purely with the genuine intention of having a next generation of sportsmen and women who only have to concentrate on their given discipline and not keep watching over their shoulders.
Reshika Udugampola
It is common knowledge that various sports people especially in the fairer sex in Sri Lanka have fallen victim to this trap over the years though those have remained public secrets. During the launch of the ‘Safe Sport’ project Sri Lanka’s Olympic medallist Susanthika Jayasinghe boldly pronounced: “This is a timely and decisive action that the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka has taken on the subject of prevention of harassment and abuse. I can explain this through my personal experience on what it is. I take this opportunity also to thank the International Olympic Committee for this action because abuse could come through ignorance, poverty and a string of other allied reasons. Now as the Director of the High-Performance Committee of the National Olympic Committee I am happy that I have been given the opportunity to serve in a meaningful manner. It is now our duty to take action and guidance to safeguard our next generation of athletes from such experiences. It is our duty to teach our younger generation of athletes who migrate from the backwoods of Sri Lanka as to how they should conduct themselves and make the most of their skills on the track and field.
Susanthika Jayasinghe
“At times I have notices that some of the athletes of our present generation do have had the ignominy of such experiences. I have heard such instances, I have seen such instances and I am aware of it. So, we must look for such ways of them occurring. How are we going to make them aware of this and this is a golden opportunity to do so,” she said.
“In short what I am trying spell out is that it is our duty to prevent such harassment and abuse which is now commonplace through the entire planet just like the Covid-19 pandemic. So we must seek ways of teaching the young athletes right from wrong and strengthen their minds to do the right thing. I say this with a lot of responsibility. So, if you are faced with such a situation or proposition please do not hesitate to bring it to our notice,” she added.
Reshika Udugampola the secretary of the NOC’s athletic commission – another Olympian who was a member of the swimming team at the London Games, said: “This is a very pertinent question for the athletes in Sri Lanka. These questions on this subject are global, but are you aware about the ramifications of this issue or how far do we discuss the matter at hand? There are chances that our own athletes facing such situations. However up to now they have not had a platform to address such situations in Sri Lanka. Now this programme which has been launched by the National Olympic Committee with the blessings of the International Olympic Committee is very timely.”
Jayanthi Kuru Uthampala who is the chairperson of the complaints committee of the project aired her views in this manner: “I appreciate the effort taken by the NOC SL to launch this project. This is an uphill task than climbing Mount Everest, but I am confident that this is something that we take one step at a time, we got to work together to make sure that we implement this policy.”