Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has said that the government is serious about incidents of sexual exploitation of women athletes at Sports Authority of India centers and such cases will not be tolerated at all. Rijiju said that the government is very sensitive to this matter and this problem is being seen in every field, not only sports. He said has given instructions to settle all pending cases by the end of this month. He also added that the Awareness campaign will be conducted to curb such incidents.
During Question Hour in the parliament Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, who was responding to a questions on action being taken to deal with charges of sexual harassment of women athletes related to SAI, said on Thursday, that strict action will be taken within a month in cases of sexual exploitation at the Sports Authority of India. He said that instructions have been issued to the concerned authorities for the disposal of these cases.
Responding to a question about the steps taken by the government on sexual exploitation cases with women players, Rijiju said that in the context of the complaints that have come to him, the authorities concerned have been directed to settle them by the end of February.
Rijiju, the Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports said,
Rijiju said that adding large-scale awareness campaigns are also being planned. “We will not tolerate any sexual advances or harassment in the ministry or our departments.” the Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports said.
It is to be noted that the pending sexual harassment cases in SAI centers became an overnight topic soon after media reports in January claimed that 45 cases of sexual harassment were reported from 24 SAI institutes over the last 10 years in which little or no action was taken.
Soon after the report was published Rijiju issued a statement that said, “There is zero tolerance for sexual harassment on SAI campuses. The inquiries that are underway will be speeded up. I have directed that all pending cases will be disposed within the next four weeks.”
