IOC criticized for inaction towards India wrestling federation sexual harassment scandal

The Sports activities and Rights Alliance criticized the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) in a report launched on Tuesday for its failure to take any sufficient steps in direction of addressing or investigating the allegations of sexual harassment and violence inside the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).

The report, titled “We Had been Solely Demanding Justice: Sexual Abuse in Indian Wrestling Federation”, supplies an outline of the scandal over the previous 12 months and supplies insights into the allegations made in opposition to the previous chief of the WFI, Brij Bhushan Singh.

Singh, who additionally served as a member of parliament for the ruling Bhartiya Janata Get together (BJP), confronted a felony trial this 12 months for sexually harassing 5 feminine wrestlers throughout his presidency. A number of allegations of sexual abuse from ladies and women arose in opposition to him during the last 12 months, resulting in widespread protests led by India’s prime Olympic wrestlers, together with Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik. The wrestlers’ protest demanded justice and accountability for the victims of abuse.

The wrestlers confronted harassment, threats and even detention for his or her calls for. The report highlights that the Indian Olympic Affiliation (IOA) and different nationwide sports activities our bodies failed to supply sufficient help and even criticized the athletes for his or her method. The scenario reached a boiling level in Might 2023, when Delhi police arrested and detained a number of protesting wrestlers.

A committee was fashioned by India’s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports activities to analyze the claims in opposition to Singh, however its method was described by the athletes as sceptical and victim-blaming. Moreover, regardless of there being a number of sufferer testimonies, the committee didn’t advocate any particular motion in opposition to Singh. In June 2023, the Sport and Rights Alliance urged the IOC to conduct an impartial inquiry, however as of the report’s launch, no such motion has been taken.

This scandal will not be an remoted incident inside the sports activities group. The USA Gymnastics intercourse abuse scandal thought of the most important in sports activities historical past, concerned the sexual abuse of lots of of gymnasts, primarily minors, over 20 years. Larry Nassar, the previous US ladies’s gymnastics staff doctor, was convicted of sexually abusing greater than 140 ladies and women underneath the guise of medical therapy. The US Olympic Committee was accused of enabling this abuse. There have additionally been different incidents just like the federal lawsuit involving former gold medal athlete Steven Lopez and Olympic coach Jean Lopez, which alleged that the US Olympic Committee and USA Taekwondo engaged in intercourse trafficking and negligence by sending athletes to competitions with identified predators.

The Sport and Rights Alliance outlined a number of suggestions for the IOC, together with a complete, trauma-informed investigation into Singh’s tenure and different claims of abuse inside the WFI. As India bids to host the 2036 Summer time Olympics, the report emphasizes the necessity for the Indian authorities and the IOC to handle such abuses and implement vital enchancment measures.