The results of Suek’s report will be published in autumn 2022. The report includes the staff of the Olympic Committee. In addition, the Olympic Committee has invited sports federations and key stakeholders to the study.
Harassment and inappropriate behavior in sports organizations have been hot topics in the early part of the year. Suek said he would begin an investigation on Friday. It is therefore not a question of investigating any case, but of investigating the experiences and findings of employees in the sports community of unfair treatment.
Secretary-General of Suek Teemu Japisson told Sport what it was all about.
Suek has agreed to conduct the study with the operational management of the Olympic Committee. The Board of the Olympic Committee had decided that the investigation would be carried out and the operational management ordered it from Suek. The report involves the staff of the Olympic Committee. In addition, the Olympic Committee has invited members of the Olympic Committee (ie sports federations) as well as key stakeholders, such as the regional sports organizations, the top sports institute Kihu, sports colleges and sports academies.
No party is required to participate in the study, but all members of the Olympic Committee and the aforementioned stakeholders will be given the opportunity to do so.
Those interested must register for the report by next Friday. Suek sends a link to the survey to those involved, and each organization then sends the survey to its own employees. Employees of sports organizations respond to the survey completely anonymously.
– Suek has asked questions and manages a database that will be answered. Suek has conducted several such studies in recent years. In 2020, a large study on sexual and sexual harassment in Finnish sports was completed. A study of the athletes’ experiences in Finnish competitive sports is now underway, says Japisson.
The study, completed in 2020, revealed that one in three female athletes and one in five male athletes had experienced sexual harassment in competitive sports. At the time, 9,018 competitive athletes over the age of 16 from 48 sports federations responded to the survey.
– We have done a lot of these studies, and we have the experience and know-how on which this schedule is also based, Japisson says.
The report is due to be completed by the autumn, when the earnings report will be published.
In practice, the survey seeks to explain how much misuse or harassment employees of sports organizations have encountered. In addition, it will be clarified what it has been like.
– Based on data. It is not known in advance what will emerge from there, but it is also considered whether there are dependencies that people in certain positions act more inappropriately than others, Japisson adds.
Among other things, Suek is investigating these cases
The Finnish Ethics Center for Sport, Suek, has been on the agenda during the spring, partly due to the uproar of the Olympic Committee.
Suek announced Thursday that it has closed its investigation into a weightlifter Anni Vuohijoki in the present case, as there was no party requesting a hearing.
In April, Suek launched an investigation into possible inappropriate behavior during the Tokyo Olympic preparation camp.
Instead Mika Lehtimäki the case is not under investigation by Suek. Lehtimäki, who was the head of the Olympic Committee’s top sports unit, received a warning in the autumn about inappropriate behavior. Lehtimäki resigned in March after the matter came to light from Sport’s news. Despite the warning, the Olympic Committee had elected Lehtimäki to head the top sports unit for the next term.
Board of the Olympic Committee informed (you will switch to another service) 12.5. order an independent report from BDO Oy to assess the whole of the Lehtimäki case. The Olympic Committee debated for a long time who the status of the report was and from whom.
In addition, Suek is investigating, among other things Petri Kaijansinkon case. Sports magazine (go to another service) reported in December that baseball game manager Kaijansinkko had been guilty of sexual harassment of a 2014 young player. Kaijansinkko has admitted the case. He resigned from the Jyväskylä Kirittäri club leader in April. He had previously been relieved of his coaching duties. At the request of the Baseball Association, Suek is investigating the course of events and handling the case.