A DRAFT of the Safe Sport Act which is intended to handle complaints of sexual harassment in sports will be ready by the end of the year, said Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.
Ahmad Faizal was responding to Batang Lupar MP Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim’s query about the actions that were taken to protect athletes from sexual harassment.
“The Act will serve as a guideline for stakeholders to combat sexual harassment and to ensure that there was a legal mechanism to protect those involved in sports,” he explained via a written parliamentary reply.
“The ministry will prepare a draft of this Act by December at the latest.”
Previously Ahmad Faizal had reportedly expressed his hopes to table the Act before the next general election.
On Oct 21 last year, Pandelela claimed in a tweet that for seven years, she had to endure sexual jokes and comments from one of her coaches.
She recalled how she once told the coach off after she had enough of his lewd jokes, but only ended up being bullied by said coach, adding that the coach was later charged with the rape of another athlete.
The Olympian also revealed through a Twitter thread that her decision to reveal her personal experience was also to create awareness of the ongoing abuses and to encourage victims to speak up on their own abuse.
This was after Ahmad Faizal had downplayed and questioned the timing of Pandelela’s allegations, asking why Pandelela had only made the revelation when the alleged incident had taken place many years ago.
In his response to Rohani, Ahmad Faizal also said that his ministry had also set up a safe sport complaints unit comprising several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to handle complaints on sexual harassment and to hold advocacy programmes.
According to Ahmad Faizal the Sport Development Act 1997 had further been amended to include “safe sport elements” in the constitution of all sporting bodies to ensure that sexual harassment could be effectively addressed by these groups.
“This amendment is expected to come into effect latest by July this year,” he said.
The minister also said that the National Sports Council would hold spot checks during training sessions to ensure that procedures were adhered to while CCTVs and security guards had been placed in training facilities. – March 24, 2022
Main photo credit: The Star
