Lok Sabha Question No. 880 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-25
Subject: Sexual Harassment of Women Wrestler
Ministry: YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS
Asked by: Thomas Chazhikadan, Francisco Cosme Sardinha, Bheemrao Baswanthrao Patil, Suresh Kodikunnil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS DEPARTMENT OF SPORTS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 880 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.07.2023

Sexual Harassment of Women Wrestler

880.  SHRI THOMAS CHAZHIKADAN:

SHRI COSME FRANCISCO CAITANO SARDINHA:

SHRI B.B. PATIL:

SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH:

Will  the  Minister  of  YOUTH  AFFAIRS  AND  SPORTS  be  pleased  to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  the  recent  allegations  of sexual  harassment  and  exploitations  of  women  wrestlers  by  the sportspersons against the officials of Wrestling Federation of India;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the Government in this regard;
- (c) the number of complaints of sexual mistreatment received from the sportspersons during each of the last three years and status of these cases;
- (d)  whether these cases were pursued by the State and if so, the percentage  of  such  cases  which  were  pursued  and  the  status  of these cases during the said period;
- (e)  whether  the  Government  has  further  taken  steps  towards addressing  the  concerns  raised  by  women  athletes  and  if  so,  the details thereof;
- (f) the details of the present safeguards and redressal mechanisms in place at training institutions for women athletes; and

(g)  whether  the  Government  has  constituted  any  committee  or expert  committee  to  enquire  about  the  charges  made  concerning sexual  abuse  and  demanding  of  sexual  favours  by  office  bearers and coaches in sports training institutes  in  the  country  and  if  so, the details thereof?

## THE MINISTER OF YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS

## ANSWER [SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR]

(a) & (b) Sir, some wrestlers had staged protest/ dharna in January, 2023, levelling allegations of sexual harassment, arbitrariness and mismanagement  in  the  functioning  of  the  Wrestling  Federation  of India (WFI). As the matter pertained to the wellbeing of the athletes, the  Government  immediately  took  note  of  the  allegations  and instructed  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  WFI  to  abstain,  as  an interim  measure,  from  administering  and  managing  the  day-to-day activities  of  the  WFI.  Further,  as  a  purely  interim  measure,  an Oversight Committee headed by Ms. M.C. Mary Kom, Major Dhyanchand  Khel  Ratna  Awardee  and  Olympic  Medallist,  was appointed  by  the  Government  on  23.1.2023  to  enquire  into  the allegations of sexual misconduct, harassment and / or intimidation, financial irregularities and administrative lapses, levelled by prominent sportspersons; and to undertake day-to-day administration of the WFI.

At present, the affairs of the WFI, including the selection of athletes and making of entries for participation of sportspersons in international events, are being managed by that Ad Hoc Committee constituted by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) until such time as the newly elected Executive Committee takes charges.

- (c) & (d) The National Sports Federations (NSFs) are selfregulated autonomous bodies registered under the Societies Registration  Act,  1860,  Companies  Act  etc.  and  are  governed  by their own constitution and have their internal mechanism to redress the grievances/ complaints filed with them by sportspersons.

Based  on  the  information  provided  about  complaints  of  sexual harassment during the last three years, and the current year by the IOA and all the presently recognized NSFs, four NSFs have reported complaints of sexual harassment, details of which are given in the Annexure.

(e) to (g) Provisions of the Sexual  Harassment  of  Women  at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) (POSH) Act, 2013 are  applicable  to  NSFs  and  other  sports  organizations,  including those under the Central Government and the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations, as applicable to any entity defined in the Act. The NSFs and other sports organizations are bound to take action in terms of the extant legal provisions in the cases of sexual harassment reported to them.

On its part, the Ministry has written to the IOA and the NSFs from time-to-time take measures for implementation to provisions relating to prevention of sexual harassment of women in sports. The Ministry  has  also  asked  the  IOA  and  the  NSFs  to  sensitize  their office bearers, coaches, administrative staff, and players about the prevention of sexual harassment of women in sports.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI), an autonomous body under the administrative control of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, has issued specific instructions to ensure a safe and positive environment  by  making  all  stakeholders  aware  that  there  is  an expectation,  at  all  times,  of  appropriate  behavior  consistent  with the core values of sportsmanship and appropriate moral conduct. In order to provide a safe environment in sports, the SAI also runs a 24*7  helpline  for  the  players.  The  following  measures  have  been advised to the NSFs:

- i.       Women Coach  to  mandatorily  be  a  part  of  the  contingent with female athletes during Domestic/ International camps and competition exposures.
- ii.      Compliance Officer (Male & Female) to be appointed in all National Coaching Camps and Foreign Exposures. The roles and responsibilities of the Compliance  Officer include communicating regularly with athletes and others to ensure that  the  guidelines  are  being  followed  as  well  as  enforce the  Standard Operating Procedure on prevention of sexual harassment in sports. The Compliance Officer, among other duties, should ensure that if any member reports a violation,
3. the  same  should  be  reported  earliest  to  the  responsible
4. authorities. iii.     Pre-Camp Sensitization modules to be designed and presented to all athletes, coaches  and  support  staffs together  before  commencement  of  any  National  Coaching Camp and Foreign Exposure. iv.       Increase  the  strength  of  women  Coaches/Support  Staff  in
5. National Coaching Camps by respective NSFs.

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ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (c)  &  (d)  OF  LOK SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  880  TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON 25/07/2023 ASKED BY SHRI THOMAS CHAZHIKADAN, SHRI COSME FRANCISCO  CAITANO  SARDINHA,  SHRI  B.B.  PATIL  AND  SHRI KODIKUNNIL  SURESH  REGARDING  SEXUAL  HARASSMENT  OF WOMEN WRESTLER

|   S.No | NSF                           |   Year* |   Number of complaints received | Number of complaints disposed of   | Number of cases where inquiries have been completed   | Number of cases where criminal case have been filed   |
|--------|-------------------------------|---------|---------------------------------|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | Cycling Federation of India   |    2022 |                               1 | 1                                  | 1                                                     | 1                                                     |
|      2 | Archery Association of India  |    2022 |                               1 | 1                                  | 1                                                     | Nil                                                   |
|      3 | All India Football            |    2022 |                               1 | 1                                  | 1                                                     | 1                                                     |
|      4 | Amateur Kabaddi Federation    |    2022 |                               1 | 1                                  | 1                                                     | 1                                                     |
|      5 | Wrestling Federation of India |    2023 |                               1 | FIR was chargesheet in the court.  | registered has since                                  | and been filed                                        |