The International Cricket Council (ICC) new proposal suggests that they are looking to clamp down all the sexual harassment cases within cricket. According to reports, the ICC is likely to impose bans on players, coaches, support staff and officials accused of misconduct. In case any such accusations surface and are found to be true, the individuals in question will be banned from participating in ICC events.
At a time when the much-talked-about #MeToo movement is helping women expressing their concerns against sexual offenders, the ICC is keen on leading the efforts to drive misconduct out of workplaces across its member nations and the sport of cricket.
As per the reports in Mumbai Mirror, the proposal will be discussed at an upcoming two-day ICC meeting in Singapore where all the chief executives of Test playing nations will be present. As per the proposal, the ban will not just affect players and the support staff, but will even extend to officials, journalists, and advertisers accused of sexual misconduct. As a result, they will not be allowed to enter stadiums during ICC events including the ICC World T20 and the ICC Cricket World Cup.
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Recently, BCCI CEO Rahul Johri was forced to sit out of the above-mentioned ICC meeting after he was alleged of sexual harassment by an anonymous woman on social media. The Committee of Administrators (CoA) which has been appointed to oversee the operations of the BCCI by the Supreme Court, has given Johri a period of two weeks days to explain himself about the accusations. The CoA has also ordered BCCI’s acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary to replace Johri at the ICC meeting.
Taking about the new policy, as quoted in Mumbai Mirror, an ICC official said, “The policy we are proposing to put in place includes the rights of the women working in the ICC events. For instance, if a woman journalist is harassed during an ICC event, she will have a prompt, easy and confidential process to lodge a complaint. It’s for everyone involved to declare that cricket will not tolerate sexual harassment. We aim to have better protection for children and adult participants. The players will be required to come up with better behavior off the field as well.”
The #MeToo movement hit cricket very recently after an anonymous woman accused Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga of sexual harassment at a Mumbai hotel during the Indian Premier League. Meanwhile, an Indian flight attendant also said that former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga had allegedly tried to grab her by the waist at a hotel in Mumbai.
