The draft law on safe sports goes to the second debate

The National Assembly went to another discussion account 720“which promotes safe sport throughout the country”.

The bill, promoted by Rep. Gabriel Silva, aims to prevent abuse, harassment, violence and countless situations, to which athletes and developing athletes are exposed in different sports disciplines.

The initiative was supported by Deputy Juan Diego Vásquez, director of the Office of Safe Sports of the Panama Olympic Committee (COP) María Carla Sayavedra and Chilean guest María Loretto González, judoka and a member of the Olympic Committee of Chile.

Sayavedra, sports psychologist of the Chilean Olympic cycle, explained that this initiative calls for a bill that protects and promotes zero tolerance for attempts at this type of abuse. “We don’t want injured athletes”, the expert pointed out.

For athlete Maria Loretto González, Panama has the opportunity to become the third country to receive the Safe Sports Act in the Americas, after Costa Rica and Chile.

“It is about monitoring and preventing, respecting the rights of athletes, and not violating them, that there is a multiplier effect in the development of any sports level, be it high, medium, initial, but that the elemental process of the athlete, i.e. that it can function with its the environment”, also pointed out a member of the Olympic Committee of Chile.

Deputy Juan Diego Vásquez clarified that the project has no gender and emphasized that abuse has the face of children and adolescents.

Alina González, president of the commission, pointed out that it is an initiative that will try to promote prevention and warn athletes to feel safe in sports and that way they can work better, with everyone’s support and not feel self-conscious.

“If they say something, silence leads to nothing. There is a lot of bullying and abuse and in sports you must always be aware because athletes are needed, but you still have to provide them with protection and the project is in that direction,” said deputy González.