Harassment is one of the biggest issues that women players face on a daily basis and this issue has very dangerous consequences on the women players. Harassment can be verbal or physical but both have negative impacts on women players such as psychological, mental health problems and behavioral changes.
Women players who went through harassment incidents experience different types of consequences such as fear, self doubt, shame, lack of power, and guilt, which only damage their mental health.
On the playing fields, women players who face harassment can not perform sport activities with focus, which affects their psychological health as well. Due to harassment incidents, victims also lost opportunities for growth in sport activities because of loss of self confidence.
Harassment has the potential to damage lives and has a considerable influence on women players. Women’s Players demand secure training areas and sport clubs in which coaches are present intellectually and physically.
WHO defines women harassment as "all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the women's health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power."
The consequences of harassment on women’s players are extensive, influencing every aspect of society. The negative impact of harassment on women’s players' lives cannot be stressed enough. Harassment in Women’s players is a major public concern in Pakistan. This issue impacts the entire family and is especially painful for victim parents.
Iqra Khaliq, a Faisalabbad based women athlete. She is a member of the new arrival athletic club, Faisalabad. She is a 2nd year student and struggles to finish her studies.Along with her studies, she manages her time for the sport and plays at national level.
“ There are different types of harassment these women players face on a daily basis such as street harassment and harassment in public transport while traveling to training areas or sport clubs.’’ This is what woman player and national level player Iqra Khaliq says.
Pakistani Actor, Ahsan Khan, wrote in his book ‘My Education in Women Sexual Abuse or harassment, that “When I was preparing for my role as a sexual predator in Udaari, I studied the problem of sexual abuse in great detail, especially as it exists in Pakistan. The statistics were horrifying. I was deeply distressed to learn about the pervasiveness of the menace in our country and made a promise to myself to fight and help reduce, and, hopefully, eliminate women sexual abuse from not only Pakistan but the entire globe. The book is a first step towards making good on the promise.”
Iqra Khaliq addressed us and stated, ‘‘Women players who face harassment in the playing fields are more likely to suffer from behavioral issues. A harassment incident harms not just the victim player but also the entire women players.’’
According to Iqra, When any women player harasses on the playing field, the player's mental health and personality suffer. A neglected player may not be physically harmed, but she may acquire undesirable behaviors that become deep rooted in her psyche.
Women’s Players psychological health is very important but if any women player face harassment, her psychological health is also disturbed and also Women’s players who face harassment may have fear of going out from home as well as mental health problems also take place. These mental health problems lead these players to depression, anxiety and sadness.
In an interview, a coach of women players from Faisalabad, agreed that “harassment scenarios on the playing fields, such as verbal or physical abuse, can be very harmful to the development of psychopathology in women players''. He also argued that “for the rest of their lives, the women players who are the victims of this curse must survive with their trauma. Mental health of women players' victims is affected in different ways depending on whether the person can let go of it or not. For some it is easy, while for others it has a dangerous influence on their daily lives.”
Many prior forms of studies support the present result that women who face harassment do not know how to get back their good mental health, which causes issues in their future lives and relationships. They have no idea how to manage a family structure or form healthy attachments in relations.
Iqra Khaliq, said: ‘‘ By providing a secure environment in the training areas and sport clubs, women players can be safe from harassment and can report any harassment incident without any hesitation and fear to the legal authorities. Providing women players proper awareness related to harassment on the playing fields will also help women players to know how to prevent harassment and can easily tackle harassment. Training areas and spot clubs should follow a zero tolerance policy against any type of harassment. By using these steps, women players can be safe from harassment and empowered in the future.’’