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AS a result of a single teen’s socially minded defiance against sexist and derogatory remarks at her school and the popularity of the ensuing #MakeSchoolASaferPlace movement, the term “sexual harassment” is no longer unfamiliar to a majority of the Malaysian public.
As much as we would like to think of the occurrence as an isolated incident, The Vibes’ very own assistant chief sub-editor, opined that women in this country have no agency over their own bodies.
Rising from the shadows of this recent movement is yet another case of sexual harassment between a futsal coach and an athlete.
In this instance, a 15-year-old girl claims that she was allegedly molested by her futsal coach when she requested a shoulder massage to relieve some muscle aches following a visit to a pharmacy after futsal practice. Upon performing the massage, the alleged offender had consciously moved his hand down to the claimant’s thighs and squeezed her pants repeatedly despite numerous objections.
Unfortunately, this was not the first time a coach had reportedly taken advantage of a young athlete.
In 1996, former athletics coach, C Ramanathan, was sentenced to four years in jail for molesting two underaged athletes, and in 2017, an aquatics coach was reported to have raped a national diving athlete.
Although all these occurrences seem like isolated cases, the truth is far more devastating as these instances of abusive behaviour are the ones that have seen the light of day.
According to research conducted by Kolej Poly-Tech MARA in 2017, which was highlighted in 2020 by All Women’s Action Society (Awam) president Premalosani Arivananthan, 15.9% of the 422 athletes surveyed – with national athletes comprising half that percentage – admitted to having experienced sexual harassment, taking into consideration that “male athletes were more vulnerable as research showed that 19% of them experienced sexual harassment compared to 11% of female athletes”.
In respect to the latest allegations of sexual harassment, sports industry veteran Datuk Sieh Kok Chi shared with The Vibes that first and foremost, “coaches should never massage their athletes, and neither should athletes make such requests”.
He shared that non-abidance would only serve to create issues between coach and athlete because when it comes to massages: “Where would the boundaries be?
“There must be basic rules and SOPs put in place. For instance, no female athlete should receive a massage without a witness present,” Datuk Sieh responded.
Datuk Sieh was astounded by the fact that a 15-year-old athlete was left alone with her coach in the dead of night to begin with. Coincidentally, this same sentiment was shared by Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) deputy president, Datuk S. Shamala.
“First of all, it is sad and disappointing to see that officials entrusted with the care of children and their players are taking advantage of this privilege. Experiences like these will be remembered for a lifetime and victims are affected for life by these ordeals that will never go away,” expressed Datuk Shamala sternly.
“The system is weak when it comes to protecting younger athletes. For starters, why is the coach sending them back in the first place? This kind of ‘tidak apa’ attitude needs to be remedied to keep our athletes safe,” she shared with The Vibes.
This opinion echoes DAP’s Batu Kawan MP, Kasthuri Patto, who commented that “the education system in Malaysia needs to be overhauled to stop the lackadaisical or ‘tidak-apa’ attitude towards such matters”, in relation to the latest sexual harassment remarks in the school incident.
Of course, both Datuk Sieh and Datuk Shamala shared that although the system should protect the athletes, it ought to be fair to the officials as well since such situations are volatile and have the potential of being misconstrued or misinterpreted by either party.
Despite it all, it is the public’s perception – as indicative by their comments – that sting the most, such as those made with regards to the 15-year-old athlete’s allegations against her futsal coach, which reinforced rape culture through victim-blaming.
“She asked coach to massage her then suddenly cry victim. Like that I go massage parlour, then cry victim when they touch me, can?”
“The victim asked for a massage from the man. She shouldn’t even ask!”
In regard to this, Datuk Shamala hit it on the nail when she said that the victims themselves might be crucified in cases like these, “as even mutual consent is wrong because children don’t know right from wrong”.
Therefore, Datuk Shamala believes that apart from the coach, importance must be placed on the team manager. She went on to add that it would be preferable for a female to manage a women’s team as she will serve as someone “who can detect things before it actually happens and check in on the athletes, creating a safe space for them (the athletes) to train and speak when needed”.
Yet, a system that protects our female athletes is not the only thing that needs to be put in place.
“We need to make our athletes aware that they need to have the right sense to interpret what is happening to them. With older athletes, it is easier for them to be aware when things are taking a turn for the worse as they are more mature. We need to protect and empower the younger athletes because if we’re able to empower them, the people with the wrong intentions will be deterred, and those who commit such wrongful acts will be penalised. For now, the perpetrators are able to get away with such acts because athletes are not coming forward to expose them for fear that people will not believe them,” said Datuk Shamala.
This is true for athletes who represent the country, for whom the stakes are much higher.
The issue of sexual harassment is neither new nor is it on the rise, but this generation has proven that they are unwilling to stay silent in the face of such atrocious behaviour. As more individuals come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct, we all have a responsibility to do our part in cultivating a society where everyone feels safe and protected. – The Vibes, May 6, 2021
