15 October 2020 12:02 am Views - 159
(L-R): S.R. Pathiravithana – Member of Women’s Committee and Head of Media, NOC Sri Lanka; Susanthika Jayasinghe OLY – Brand Ambassador for ‘Harassment is No Game’ and Director of High Performance, NOC Sri Lanka; Niloo Jayatilake – Chairperson of Women’s Committee, NOC Sri Lanka; Suresh Subramaniam – President of NOC Sri Lanka; Fazil Hussain - Member of Women’s Committee and President of Sri Lanka Softball Baseball Association; Reshika Udugampola OLY – Member of Women’s Committee and Secretary of Athletes’ Commission of NOC Sri Lanka; Gobinath Sivarajah – Member of Women’s Committee and Marketing and Media Manager of NOC Sri Lanka
In a bid to eradicate harassment at all levels of the sports arena in the country, the Women’s Committee of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOC Sri Lanka) officially launched its ‘Harassment is No Game’ campaign on Tuesday. The Committee announced its comprehensive campaign is to prevent harassment at the launch event.
The campaign organizers are looking to address all forms of harassment including mental, physical, verbal and sexual abuse to bullying that takes place in the sports community in the country.
Harassment could manifest in the form of actions calculated to trigger stress and trauma, demeaning language and behaviour, bodily harm, inappropriate of sharp language, inappropriate touch, and comments and unsolicited sexual expressions.
“Our fundamental aim is to eradicate harassment in sports among the athletes across the nation and create a safe space in which athletes can perfect their craft. The first phase of this campaign will focus on educating all entities involved, including the public. Afterwards, we plan to set up a system that enables whistle-blowers to communicate with a designated unit. We are confident that this will trigger a feasible and effective process into establish the authenticity of complaints, understand the facts and work on resolving the issues promptly,” commented Women’s Committee Chairperson of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka, Niloo Jayatilake.
The Committee has set up a special team to investigate reports of harassment and pursue appropriate action immediately. Just over a year after having established the country’s first-ever Sexual Harassment and Abuse Prevention Policy for sports, this campaign will be the first step in eradicating harassment and protecting sportsmen and women.
“All forms of harassment undermine human dignity and trigger devastating effects on a person’s self-worth, mental and physical wellbeing. Sports should promote a life-enhancing culture where everyone involved enjoys the right to become happy and fulfilled individuals. Unfortunately, harassment in the sports world is more prevalent than most people imagine. Hence, we’ve decided to nurture a culture that understands, accepts and takes action to help each and every sportsman and woman,” commented Harassment is No Game Campaign Ambassador, Susanthika Jayasinghe OLY(Olympians).