Sakshi Malik’s stand ends the silence on sports reform

Sportspersons take pride in being mentally strong, though many operate in a system that prioritises suffering in silence over speaking out. This must end now

On the heels of Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik announcing that she intends to quit her sport, and fellow wrestler Vinesh Phogat returning her Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards, frustrated over the lack of action by the government towards Brij Bhushan Singh, the former head of the Wrestling Federation of India, accused of sexual harassment, the mental health of sportspersons and rights of athletes to a safe sports environment has emerged as an urgent if undiscussed need.

New Delhi: Wrestler Sakshi Malik during a press conference after Sanjay Singh, an associate of BJP MP and former chief of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, became the new President of WFI, in New Delhi, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. (PTI Photo/Vijay Verma)(PTI12_21_2023_000337A) (PTI)

The field of sports, whether at the grassroots, or competitive or elite levels, reflects society. So, it is unsurprising that Parcham, a girls' football collective based in Mumbra, Thane faced lewd comments while playing on public fields when they started playing in 2012. Or that the Andhra women’s cricket team and Olympic and World Championship medal-winning wrestlers have shared experiences of sexual harassment by powerful sports administrators, V Chamundeswaranath and Brij Bhushan Singh, respectively. Research tells us that irrespective of the country or type of sport, the risk of experiencing sexual violence greatly increases when sportspersons are competing at elite levels, or are women, gender-nonconforming persons or children.

Instances of psychological, sexual and physical abuse in sports can profoundly affect an athlete’s well-being beyond performance in sport, reducing chances of winning medals or getting sponsorships. These experiences trigger feelings of lack of enjoyment in sports, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, self-harm, suicidal ideation and ultimately being forced to drop out of sports. Apart from these very tangible negative impacts, there are wide-ranging long-term effects on peers, friends and family. The emotional, cognitive, behavioural, relational and personal consequences of experiencing such violence can persist even after leaving the sport.

When it comes to female elite athletes, research has shown clear linkages between experience of sexual abuse and suicidal ideation. Ranji cricket player, Durga Bhawani who lodged a sexual harassment complaint against V Chamundeswaranath in 2009, dropped out of cricket and later, died by suicide in 2015. However, despite the clear impact on sports performance, the growing popularity of sports psychology or the increasing discourse around mental health at work, engagement and research on sexual violence and the mental health of athletes has been limited. Further, we need to go beyond the psychopathological approach, to one which creates psychologically safe spaces and ecosystems.

One way to do this is to understand the risks and protective factors for mental well-being in sports ecosystems. To do so, it is critical to look beyond individual examples toward the context of sport — where the perpetrator is likely to be an individual, who is not only close to the survivor but has influence in the ecosystem.

Apart from the clear under-reporting of incidents, between 2010 and 2020, 29 of 45 complaints of sexual harassment to the Sports Authority of India were against coaches. While some of these coaches continued to work with minor athletes, some were penalised with pay reduction and only two coaches were terminated.

To have a psychologically safe sports space, it is necessary to pay heed to the social context of abuse, to power imbalances linked to heteropatriarchal authority structures that foster a culture of dependency, deference, silence and secrecy that enable abusive behaviour. The pathways that reinforce these ideals of suffering in silence, or pushing through the pain as well as hesitation to disclose distress or vulnerability also lead to reduced seeking of help.

It is in this context that the trauma of experiencing sexual violence gets compounded, intensifying distress and effects on mental health.

The likelihood of sexual abuse increases in situations where there is a lack of policies, procedures and ethical guidelines especially when combined with vulnerable athletes.

In May 2023, the National Human Rights Commission, India took suo motu cognizance of media reports stating that 15 of the 30 national sports federations did not have any internal complaints committee (ICC). The WFI, not surprisingly, was one of them. An ICC is mandated by the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Act, 2013 to enable reporting of sexual harassment and abuse.

In India, many sportspersons who may come from marginalised backgrounds, and who see sports as a livelihood and a critical way to support family, may face immense pressure from multiple stakeholders to stay silent. Survivors of such violence may hide their distress to stay on the team or maintain anonymity.

The combination of silencing, isolation, bystander inaction, organisational denial, and a sense of powerlessness contributes to athletes choosing not to disclose abuse. This renders the abuse not as incidents of violence but as pervasive violence embedded in sports systems that cause multiple and chronic trauma, leading to complex posttraumatic stress disorder and other illnesses.

This is where medical or therapeutic practitioners in sports must take a leading role in defining ethical codes of practice recognising and responding to violence as well as psychoeducation of stakeholders such as government and sports bodies to uphold human rights in sports systems.

Raj Mariwala is the director of Mariwala Health Initiative, an advocacy, capacity building and grant-making organisation focusing on accessible mental health for marginalised communities