ISLAMABAD: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has taken a serious notice of the alleged harassment and assault of a woman hockey player in Pakistan and has asked the concerned authorities to furnish all the details of the serious incident for further deliberation and necessary action. ‘The News’ has learnt exclusively that IOC has taken up the matter with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) in Pakistan following the reports published and aired (print and electronic media) that a woman hockey player was assaulted by a team official at the conclusion of training camp in October. Though official denied allegations, the woman hockey player came in public (on TV channels and print media), accusing the official of assault on the night of October 8.The woman player also wrote to Punjab Sports Minister Jahangir Khanzada requesting for necessary action against the official. The matter now becomes even serious as IOC has stepped in asking the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) to investigate the matter and report back to the custodian of all Olympic sports. The IOC had adopted concrete measures first in 2006 and then in 2016 to discourage such assaults or exploitation of women folk in the field of sports.The IOC rules regarding the harassment of players bind the concerned Olympic Committee to look into the matter — grill the concerned officials or the federation involved and report the matter back after investigating it thoroughly. The IOC has made it pertinent to all respective NOCs to make sure that the player who has accused official/officials of harassment is given proper hearing.Following measures are recommended by the IOC for the investigation of assault cases and made it necessary for the respective Olympic association to investigate the matter under following rules: (i) The reporting and investigation procedures, (ii) determining whether information of a case should be disclosed to the competent local authorities, and (iii) providing support to any concerned persons throughout the reporting and investigation procedures. 2.7 Disciplinary Procedure Establish a disciplinary procedure for alleged incidents of abuse and harassment, which includes, in particular, disciplinary decisions, measures and sanctions. 2.8 Measures and Sanctions Establish guidelines on measures and sanctions detailing how incidents of harassment and abuse should be sanctioned. Measures and sanctions must respect the principle of proportionality, be in proportion to the severity of the behaviour and consistent with applicable laws. The IOC rules further say the following factors should be taken into consideration when determining proportionality: the nature and severity of the violations; the number of violations; any other relevant circumstances (e.g. when the abused or harassed person is a minor). 2.9 Fair process provide the responding party with fair process, including notice and the right/opportunity to be heard before applying any measure or sanction. 2.10 Involvement of relevant public authorities and other organisations consistent with applicable laws, inform the relevant public authorities about potential criminal cases. The IOC has given full authority to the concerned Olympic association to take the matter directly in its own hands if it (NOC) deems it necessary that the respective federation is trying to hush up the matter or is making attempt to influence findings. In the case of woman hockey player, the IOC has asked its subordinate body in Pakistan to investigate the matter using all the authorities bestowed upon them by the IOC Charter. Since hockey is one of important Olympic sports, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) is bound to follow all rules and regulations of IOC in letter and spirit.
