Source:
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2187642/cut-funding-sports-clubs-without-anti-sex-harassment-policies
Hong Kong/ Society

‘Cut funding to sports clubs without anti-sex-harassment policies’, Hong Kong’s Equal Opportunities Commission tells government

  • Equality watchdog’s survey finds more clubs putting guidelines in place
  • But it says there is still not enough being done
Vera Lui said in 2017 that a coach assaulted her years earlier. Photo: Xinhua

Sports associations that rely on public cash should get their funding cut if they do not bring in policies to stamp out sexual harassment, Hong Kong’s equality watchdog said on Monday.

That was despite its survey finding more clubs had such guidelines in place than four years ago.

The Equal Opportunities Commission made the appeal after completing an assessment of how the sector handled sexual harassment problems after Hong Kong’s top hurdler Vera Lui Lai-yiu’s claim in 2017 that she was sexually assaulted by a coach years earlier.

The shock of Lui’s revelation was later compounded by news that the Jockey Club had fired a riding instructor in its junior equestrian team after he was accused of using sexually explicit language at work.

We hope [the LCSD] will consider holding whether sports associations have a policy as a funding principle Dr Ferrick Chu, EOC

Of 42 sports associations polled by the commission between last July and October, 39 said they had developed or were developing a written policy on sexual harassment, a more-than-fivefold increase on 2014, when the last survey was done.

Six respondents reported a total of seven sexual harassment complaints in the past three years, including reports of inappropriate touching or kissing, or inappropriate sexual talk, either in person or via messaging.

The commission’s acting chief operations officer Dr Ferrick Chu Chung-man said there was still not enough being done, and urged the government to consider making sports funding contingent on clubs having anti-sexual-harassment guidelines, and a transparent mechanism for handling complaints.

“It is encouraging because the number is growing, although not that fast,” Chu said. “It’s not to my satisfaction.”

He said that was because the commission had done training with, and provided resources to, the associations for the last few years.

“We hope [the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD)] will consider holding whether sports associations have a policy as a funding principle,” he said.

Of the 42 sports associations, 22 said they had a written anti-sexual-harassment policy, while another 17 groups said they would have one within a year.

The three which had no plan to follow suit said they already had a code of ethics for members, staff and coaches.

The poll also found improvements in other preventive measures for sexual harassment. For example, 64 per cent of respondents said they required prospective employees and coaches to have sexual conviction record checks, compared with 26 per cent in 2014.

But 15 fewer associations took the survey this year than last time. It was sent to the 79 national sports associations by the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong.

About three-fifths of respondents did not provide awareness training on sexual harassment to their employees and coaches, while about 62 per cent said they did not have the resources to provide such training.

Of the government-subsidised associations, 58 per cent said they did not have adequate resources to provide such training.

As such, Chu called on the government to consider providing more funding for training.

An LCSD spokeswoman said it had already provided guidelines and a code of practice to the subsidised sports associations. 

According to the agreement signed by the LCSD with all subsidised sports associations, the associations must comply with the relevant codes, including requiring coaches and participants to be highly alert when having physical contact to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, she said.

She said the LCSD would strengthen protections, including by “encouraging the sports associations to refer to the information of the Equal Opportunities Commission to formulate guidelines for handling and preventing sexual harassment”.