GFF releases draft of Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has joined a long list of organizations to draft a Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy for their entity, in hopes of weeding out and thwarting such distasteful incidences from occurring in their establishment.
As such, the GFF is inviting all stakeholders and the public to provide feedback to the draft Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy developed for the institution, which has been drafted by a consultant and, once finalized and approved, will become part of the Standing Operating Procedure of the GFF.
The draft policy seeks to ensure a “harassment-free environment where all persons involved in Football are treated with respect and dignity and all athletes, coaches and officials can contribute and participate fully.”
President of the GFF, Wayne Forde, noted that accountability is key and so is the public’s participation in this activity: “The GFF firmly believes that fans, civic society, corporate Guyana and the general public are important stakeholders. It is therefore necessary to give them an opportunity to contribute to the crafting of a policy that sets out to protect, educate and hold accountable, members of the fraternity.”
The draft policy can be found on the GFF’s website, via link https://www.gffonline.com/gffs- sexual-harassment-policy_draft/ and submissions should be sent to [email protected] or 17 Dadanawa Street, Section K, Campbelville labelled “Feedback: Draft Sexual Harassment Policy.” The deadline for submission is Friday, August 17, 2019.
The GFF’s Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy comes on the heels of the dismissal of former Head of the Referees, Stanley Lancaster and suspension of Referee Assessor Roy McArthur over sexual harassment allegations in January of this year.
The allegations by female referees were brought to the GFF’s attention in early 2018 and a Board of Inquiry (BoI) was set up in March 2018 to vet the allegations. At the head of the BoI was Dr Karen Pilgrim, and included Dr Melissa Ifill, Karen Joseph, Karen De Souza, and Joy Nichola Marcus-Reid.
Following the completion of this process, the Board presented their finding to the GFF’s Executive Committee with a final report on November 19, 2018. As protocol would have it, the report was then reviewed by the Executive Committee at their next meeting on December 1, after which sanctions were to be made.
The pair was made aware of their fate on January 7 of this year at a press briefing where the GFF President stood firmly against such occurrences.
“Let me be very clear to our entire fraternity: Sexual harassment, abuse, inappropriate behaviour and discrimination of any kind have no place in football whatsoever. While football cannot fix society’s problems, under my leadership, the GFF will do everything it can to improve the football environment and protect the integrity of the women and girls in the sport,” Forde had stated