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Mandela Anuvabe

Fifa has imposed a lifetime ban on former Gabonese youth coach Patrick Assoumou Eyi after he was found guilty of sexually abusing multiple young players, a significant move in the ongoing fight against abuse within Gabonese football.

The decision, made on Tuesday, follows a detailed investigation by<a target="_blank" class="editor-link" href="https://www.pulse.com.gh/articles/news/local/photos-of-the-lady-who-exposed-ugs-gyampo-and-butakor-in-sex-for-grades-expose-2024080819125752372"> BBC Africa Eye</a> into decades of alleged misconduct by Eyi, who had a long tenure as head coach of Gabon’s national youth teams.

Eyi, widely known as “Capello,” was found guilty of abusing at least four male football players between 2006 and 2021, with the majority of the incidents taking place while the players were minors.

Alongside his lifetime ban, Fifa also imposed a fine of one million Swiss francs (£880,000; $1.1m), and Eyi is currently in prison.

This ruling has been hailed as a vital first step towards addressing the issue, though many feel further action is necessary. Loic Alves, legal counsel for<a target="_blank" class="editor-link" href="https://www.pulse.com.gh/articles/sports/football/football-concussion-sub-trials-fall-short-of-protecting-players-fifpro-2024081214461340836"> global players’ union Fifpro</a>, emphasized that while the ban was an important milestone, it was only the start of a broader challenge.

Alves told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme that it was a step in the right decision.

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<blockquote>It is a positive first step, but it is just the first step. There are many more perpetrators.</blockquote>

While the ban has been welcomed, victims of the abuse remain unsatisfied, with calls for a more comprehensive approach to dismantle the system of abuse.

One of Eyi’s alleged victims, who requested to remain anonymous, shared their thoughts on the ruling.

He said the following as quoted by the BBC:

<blockquote>I’m not satisfied because I don’t want us to stop there. It’s a whole network, a system that needs to be dismantled.</blockquote>

<h2>BBC investigations into sexual abuse in Gabon</h2>

In 2023, BBC Africa spoke to over 30 witnesses who described a longstanding network of<a target="_blank" class="editor-link" href="https://www.pulse.com.gh/search-results?keywords=%20sexual%20abuse"> sexual abuse </a>at all levels of Gabonese football, spanning more than three decades. Some victims recounted being abused as teenagers, with one player revealing they were assaulted from the age of 14.

Alongside the perpetrators, Fifa and Gabon’s national football federation, Fegafoot, have faced accusations of failing to protect young players. Both bodies have denied the allegations made against them.

The decision to ban Patrick Assoumou Eyi is a critical moment in the effort to hold those responsible accountable and bring justice to the players affected by the abuse.

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However, many believe that further action is needed to root out the systemic issues that allowed this abuse to persist for so long.

Youth coach banned for life and jailed for sexually abusing young players

Fifa has banned former Gabonese youth coach Patrick Assoumou Eyi for life after he was found guilty of sexually abusing multiple young players, with many calling for further action against systemic abuse in Gabonese football. Details of case...

Maxwell Nyagamago

Addressing these issues at the GMA’s recent 66th Annual General Conference in Ho, the association’s President, Dr Frank Serebour, lamented the increasing instances of unprofessional conduct among health workers. He highlighted troubling behaviours such as chronic lateness, absenteeism, poor documentation, and a lack of commitment to professional duties.

He noted that some members “walk into the hospitals at 9 am, by 12 pm they are walking out. You ask them, they say they are done, and yet they expect to be paid for working eight hours at least in a day.”

The GMA President also pointed out that some health sector workers engage in “alcoholism, drug misuse and abuse,” emphasising that these habits affect both their personal lives and job performance.

Dr Serebour further revealed that, in some extreme cases, members of the association have been implicated in incidents of sexual harassment, with several cases under investigation by the Medical and Dental Council. Meanwhile, health facilities continue to face lawsuits related to these issues.

“Indeed, sometimes we are let off the hook simply because the victims of our own professionalism choose to blame the witches and wizards for their predicament, instead of taking on the system,” the GMA President remarked.

Addressing issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, unprofessional conduct, and sexual harassment among health workers is essential to restoring professionalism and public trust. With these challenges affecting patient care and the sector’s reputation, the GMA calls for stronger accountability measures and a renewed commitment to ethical standards to ensure that healthcare workers fulfil their responsibilities to the highest standards.

Ghana Drunkards Association declares Friday, June 11 National Drinking Day

The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has expressed serious concerns over alcohol misuse, drug abuse, and incidents of sexual harassment within the medical community.

GMA laments alcohol misuse, drug abuse, sexual harassment among health workers

Pulse News Agency International by AFP

The review, commissioned by England's governing Football Association, said Crewe had not done enough to protect boys from serial abuser Barry Bennell, a youth football coach.

Crewe chairman John Bowler said in a statement that as the last person remaining at the club from the time when Bennell committed his crimes he felt he had to stay to see the report published.

"As the only person left with an association to that era, I truly believe it was important for me to see it through to conclusion," he said.

"I am satisfied with the findings of the review that found that the club did not have any knowledge of Barry Bennell's heinous crimes."

However, lawyer Clive Sheldon concluded in his report it was likely three Crewe directors discussed Bennell over concerns which hinted at his sexual interest in children.

It also found there is no evidence that advice from a senior police officer to keep a "watching brief" on Bennell was heeded.

The club were also criticised for not checking in with boys who were staying overnight at Bennell's house.

"Had such steps been taken, this might have led to boys making disclosures to the club," Sheldon wrote in his report.

Bowler, who became Crewe chairman in 1987 after joining the board in 1980, apologised for the harm the youngsters had suffered describing Bennell as an "evil predator."

"I will always be deeply appalled and sorry that those young players and their families suffered at the hands of this evil predator.

"I personally and sincerely apologise to them all for their suffering. Crewe Alexandra is a community-based club with good people."

Bowler apologised to the fans for the club's name "being tarnished" but said hopefully with new leadership in place it would regain their trust.

"I have worked on the formation of a new board and know they will do all they can to move the club forward," he said.

"Our academy remains one of the finest in the country and we have every confidence in our safeguarding policies and procedures.

"There is always room for improvement and as a club will welcome the future recommendations of the Sheldon Review."

The review by Sheldon was commissioned by the FA in 2016, shortly after former player Andy Woodward spoke out about how he had been abused by Bennell at Crewe.

Bennell, who had been convicted in the United States in 1995, was sentenced to 31 years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court in 2018 for 50 counts of child abuse against 12 boys aged eight to 15 between 1979 and 1991.

Judge Clement Goldstone described Bennell as "the devil incarnate" and he was sentenced to a further four years last year.

The chairman of shamed English third tier team Crewe Alexandra has stepped down following the report into historical abuse in football

The chairman of third tier English club Crewe Alexandra stood down on Thursday just over a week after the publication of an independent review of historical sexual abuse in football.

Crewe chairman steps down after report into child sex abuse scandal

The review, published on Wednesday, said high-profile convictions -- including one for serial abuser Barry Bennell in the United States in 1995 -- should have served as the catalyst for change, but it took another five years for the FA to put adequate processes in place.

"The FA acted far too slowly to introduce appropriate and sufficient child protection measures, and to ensure that safeguarding was taken sufficiently seriously by those involved in the game," the report said.

"These are significant institutional failings for which there is no excuse. During this period, the FA did not do enough to keep children safe."

There were failings even after 2000, the report said. It cited the fact that no measures were put in place to stop Bennell, who had worked as a youth coach affiliated to Manchester City, Crewe and Stoke, from returning to football after his release from prison in 2003.

Bennell was sentenced to 31 years in prison in 2018 for 50 counts of child abuse against 12 boys aged eight to 15 between 1979 and 1991.

Judge Clement Goldstone described Bennell as "the devil incarnate". He was sentenced to a further four years last year.

The FA was also criticised for failing to look again at allegations against Southampton and Peterborough youth coach Bob Higgins when the standard of proof in disciplinary cases was lowered in 2003.

Higgins was sentenced to 24 years in prison in 2019 after being found guilty of 46 counts of indecent assault against 24 people between 1971 and 1996.

The review, led by barrister Clive Sheldon, also looked at how the FA and individuals at clubs with links to suspected or convicted abusers dealt with reports of abuse.

It stated that, in some cases, "clubs acted too slowly, or inappropriately" in response to such reports.

In all, the review said that data passed to it in August 2020 had identified 240 suspects and 692 survivors.

Sheldon believes the actual number who were abused but had not come forward to report it was far higher, but concluded that abuse was "not commonplace" and that the "overwhelming majority" of children were able to engage with football safely.

The review makes 13 recommendations for the FA to improve safeguarding including having a board member as safeguarding champion and the employment of safeguarding officers at all 92 professional clubs in England.

"Understanding and acknowledging the appalling abuse suffered by young players in the period covered by the review is important for its own sake," said Sheldon.

"Survivors deserve to be listened to, and their suffering deserves to be properly recognised.

"As well as recognising and facing up to what happened in the past, it is also important that this terrible history is not repeated, and that everything possible is done now to safeguard the current and future generations of young players."

The Offside Trust, founded and run by survivors of sexual abuse in sport, criticised the findings of the report, calling them "blindingly obvious".

"We are deeply disappointed that an opportunity to create a world-class standard of child protection and safeguarding in sport has been missed," it said.

League One Peterborough issued a short statement in which they said they were "extremely sorry" to anyone affected by the club's part in the abuse scandal.

The Football Association was guilty of inexcusable "institutional failings" in delaying the implementation of child safeguarding measures, a report says

The Football Association was guilty of inexcusable "institutional failings" in delaying the implementation of child safeguarding measures between 1995 and 2000, an independent review of historical sexual abuse has found.

Football chiefs 'too slow' to act, says review into child sex abuse scandal

The review said high-profile convictions -- including one for serial abuser Barry Bennell in the United States in 1995 -- should have served as the catalyst for change, but it took another five years for the FA to put adequate processes in place.

Bennell was sentenced to 31 years in prison in February 2018 for 50 counts of child abuse against 12 boys aged eight to 15 between 1979 and 1991.

The review makes 13 recommendations for the FA to improve safeguarding.

"As well as recognising and facing up to what happened in the past, it is also important that this terrible history is not repeated, and that everything possible is done now to safeguard the current and future generations of young players.

"I hope that this report will make some contribution towards that."

Football child sex abuse report finds FA guilty of 'institutional failings'

The Scottish Football Association (SFA) commissioned a review in 2016 following an "unprecedented" number of allegations of sexual abuse, related mainly to the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.

The review engaged directly with hundreds of people. Thirty-three provided personal accounts of their harrowing experiences including sexual abuse and rape.

Clubs including Rangers, Hibernian, Motherwell and Partick Thistle were all named in the testimonies, along with Celtic Boys Club. They related to people in various roles including coaching and scouting.

The Report of the Independent Review of Child Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football called on "all clubs and organisations involved to make a clear, unreserved, and public acknowledgement and apology to all those directly affected by the abuse".

Review chairman Martin Henry said he hoped the publication would give victims a "sense of personal justice and vindication".

"I am heartened by the progress made so far in Scottish football, but today should not be considered the end of this journey but a critical juncture to provide context to the work that is under way and which must continue," he added.

The review found most of the young people who experienced sexual abuse did not report it to anyone else at the time, and in the majority of cases nobody in Scottish football knew about it.

However, it said this did not necessarily mean there was no "level of suspicion" among some in the game.

An interim report published in 2018 made 95 recommendations for change and improvement in the protection of young people.

The review said it was "encouraging" that the Scottish FA and its members had taken serious steps to deliver on many of its recommendations.

However it said it would be a "grave mistake" to believe sexual abuse in Scottish football was a "historical" issue, saying the risk remained.

It added culture change within football in Scotland was imperative, including challenging negative and harmful attitudes to mental health and challenging homophobic attitudes and behaviours.

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said he was "deeply upset" by the contents of the final report, in particular, by the traumatic experiences endured by young players.

"I reiterate my sincerest apology on behalf of Scottish football to all who have experienced abuse in our national game," he added.

A spokesman for Hibernian said: "We would reiterate the view we have expressed in the past, commending the courage of all of the survivors who have come forward to raise this issue, and we deeply regret any suffering that those survivors have endured."

In a lengthy statement, League One Thistle said: "We apologise sincerely on behalf of Partick Thistle to anyone personally affected by historic abuse within our game. We fully acknowledge the impact of these events and their enduring effect on those affected."

Celtic, Rangers and Motherwell are yet to comment on the report.

The Scottish Football Association commissioned a review following widespread allegations of sexual abuse in the sport

Scottish football clubs should make an "unreserved" public apology to those who suffered historical child sex abuse, a report urged on Thursday.

Scottish football clubs 'must apologise' for historical sexual abuse

Ghana Premier League

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Keramuddin Karim was found guilty by global governing body FIFA last year of assaulting several women footballers, with the verdict upheld in July by the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Afghan authorities issued an arrest warrant for Karim last year, but he has remained at large.

Late on Sunday, Afghan special forces carried out an "air and ground" operation to arrest Karim in Panjshir province bordering the capital Kabul, where he is believed to be hiding.

But Mansur Onabi, spokesman for the province's governor, told AFP the was "not coordinated with local officials".

"The local people clashed with security forces, preventing the operation from succeeding," he said.

Panjshir deputy governor Mohammad Amin Seddiqi confirmed that an operation had been carried out to arrest Karim.

Five female Afghan players accused Karim of committing sexual assault between 2013 and 2018.

In its judgement upholding the FIFA verdict, the Court of Arbitration for Sport's panel said Karim had "violated basic human rights and damaged the mental and physical dignity and integrity of young female players".

"With his appalling acts, he had destroyed not only their careers, but severely damaged their lives," the CAS statement said.

FIFA delivered its toughest sanction: a life ban and a fine of 1 million Swiss francs ($1 million, 934,000 euros).

Karim has previously denounced the accusations as part of a "conspiracy" that had no evidence.

Afghan football boss Keramuddin Karim was found guilty of sexual assault by world body FIFA

Afghan special forces bungled a night-time raid to arrest the country's fugitive former football chief, wanted over the sexual abuse of women players, officials said Monday.

Afghan forces botch raid to arrest sex-abuse football chief

Instead she found an industry rife with abuse and aggression, where women are afforded little protection.

The visually impaired are encouraged to work in massage parlours in China because it is believed they are extra sensitive to touch.

It's also seen as a practical option in a country that routinely separates those with disabilities from the rest of society from a young age, and where few professions are willing to accommodate blind staff.

But for many blind women the reality is full of risks.

Xiao said she was regularly groped by male customers who also demanded sexual favours and tried to force her to touch them inappropriately.

"The most serious time (a customer) was very fierce, he took me into a separate room and closed both doors, and then asked me to massage a certain part of him," she told AFP.

"He said if I didn't agree he would smash up the shop. He was drunk at that time and said that he had been taking drugs. I was very scared," the 28-year-old added.

It has been 14 years since she lost sight due to a genetic condition, and this is not the future she envisioned.

Rights activists estimate 40 percent of women have faced sexual harassment in China, where a patriarchal system, victim-blaming and conservative attitudes mean reporting sex crimes and securing convictions can be difficult.

Blind women in the massage industry are even more vulnerable, says lawyer Li Ying, who warns that the real number who have faced sexual harassment is likely far higher than the general population.

Many in the profession have told charities they endured physical or sexual assault but as such incidents are rarely reported to authorities there are no official records detailing how high harassment levels are.

Li was the first lawyer to bring a case under China's new sexual harassment legislation -- which she won.

Until 2018 there was no legal definition of sexual harassment and no regulations on how to handle such cases in schools and workplaces.

But blind women are often "more vulnerable", Li warned.

"We find that in the service industry in general, people are more likely to be sexually harassed, and the nature of blind massage makes the proportion higher," she added.

Therapist Ming Yue, who asked to use her nickname, has worked in more than ten different parlours and recalls being groped and abused by clients in every one.

The first incident came when she was just 18 and a male customer tried to touch her breasts and legs during the massage.

The 24-year-old, who suffered an eye infection that led to blindness in her early teens, explained: "I didn't know what to do. I had never experienced this before and no one had taught me how to handle this."

For Miaomiao, who also gave only her nickname, the sexual harassment began when she was a teenage intern at a massage parlour.

Customers would deliberately not wear underwear to "trick" her into touching their genitals while others simply tried to make her do so.

But none of the women who spoke to AFP had filed a police complaint -- mostly out of fear.

"I didn't tell anyone -- telling them won't solve the problem but could make things worse," explained Miaomiao, who lost her sight aged eight because of a degenerative condition.

Better integration and legal protection is essential for change, argued Li, suggesting authorities should commit to treating blind people equally, and to provide "more resources, rather than just isolating them".

A 2018 United Nations report on disability and development found nearly half of people with disabilities in China go to a designated school -- a figure far above average among the countries surveyed.

"The likelihood is very high that most people have never interacted with a person who has any kind of disability," said Parissara Liewkeat, of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in China.

She said this created a "lack of understanding" and called for better disability training in companies to help change perceptions and broaden career choices.

"If people leave blind massage parlours and go to other positions, they often find entry level jobs with no room for promotion and low pay," said Zhou Haibin, whose organisation Easy Inclusion Consulting helps provide internships and employment for those with different needs.

"Employers get very little external support and don't know how to adjust to disabled staff," Zhou said.

Xiao Jia decided to set up her own massage parlour in a bid to take control of the situation, but it still didn't stamp out the abuse from customers who have overwhelmingly no experience of meeting people with disabilities.

She now works in an NGO which supports disabled people -- including women who have faced the same difficulties as her. The organisation provides training in leadership skills, finance, and human rights.

"We teach disabled women about equality for those with disabilities, and gender equality, so that they can understand that being disabled is not their fault or defect," she said.

Xiao also gives makeup and yoga classes to visually impaired women, and encourages them to explore options other than the pre-determined careers laid out.

She explained: "If people's attitudes change, there will be more opportunities for the visually impaired -- maybe we can be makeup teachers, we can be yoga teachers, and we can even do a lot of work that other people found incredible for the blind before."

When Xiao Jia lost her sight as a teenager she was told the "respectable" career choice was to become a massage therapist, instead she found an industry rife with abuse and aggression, where women are afforded little protection

When Xiao Jia lost her sight as a teenager she was told the "respectable" career choice was to become a massage therapist.

Sexual abuse, assault: Grim prospects for China's blind women

Pyongyang imposes tight restrictions on freedom of movement for its citizens and those caught for illegal border crossing are subject to detention and prosecution.

But before the North locked down its borders to try to prevent a coronavirus outbreak, many travelled back and forth across the porous 1,400 kilometre (880 mile) border with China to engage in trade or to relocate.

The vast majority of border-crossers are female as women have more freedom of movement than men, who are all allocated state jobs in a traditionally patriarchal society.

The UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner interviewed more than 100 North Korean escapees who said they suffered sexual violence including rape, forced nudity and abortion after fleeing, being caught and subsequently being repatriated.

Back in the North, ministry of state security officials often carried out "invasive searches" at detention centres, said Daniel Collinge, the primary author of the report.

"They were subjected to body searches which required them to strip naked and then to squat and jump repeatedly to check for hidden items in their body cavities," Collinge told reporters in Seoul.

The women's rights to sexual reproduction were also violated, he added, with forced abortions rampant at detention centres.

Several interviewees detailed instances where abortions were performed medically or induced through severe beatings.

"There were two pregnant women, three months and five months pregnant, who were kicked very badly so that they would have lost their baby by the time they left the facility," one woman recounted.

Rape by guards was widespread, the report said, but few talked about it as it would often lead to further punishment including starvation.

All the women were interviewed in the South, having reached the country after fleeing the North again after their unsuccessful attempts.

The nuclear-armed North already stands accused by the UN of "systematic, widespread and gross" human rights violations that range from torture, extrajudicial killings to running prison camps.

Pyongyang maintains that it protects and promotes "genuine human rights" and calls accusations of rights abuses by the international community anti-regime propaganda.

The Friendship Bridge in Dandong between China and North Korea. Before coronavirus restrictions, many North Korean women travelled back and forth across the porous border with China

North Korean women face widespread sexual violations by state security and police officials if they are forcibly returned after a failed attempt to flee, the UN's rights body said Tuesday.

Women defectors returned to N. Korea face sexual abuse: UN

Amid a campaign unprecedented in its intensity in the deeply conservative country, state and religious authorities have started to take a firmer stand.

The latest outpouring of anger, on the Instagram account "Assault Police", centres on allegations against Ahmed Bassam Zaki, a 22-year-old former student of some of Egypt's most elite schools and universities.

They have ranged from claims that he took part in a rape at the gym hall of a gated residential community to screen-grabs showing salacious messages and blackmail of women. Some alleged incidents involved girls as young as 14.

Police on July 4 arrested Zaki who, according to prosecutors, has confessed to assaulting at least six girls including one aged under 18 and to blackmailing the victims.

While Zaki is awaiting trial, his case has kicked off a wave of other complaints in a society where, United Nations surveys say, most women have experienced catcalling, pinching, groping or worse.

"Women immediately jumped at the opportunity to vent and tell their stories," the Instagram page administrator told AFP, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals.

"It is now bigger than Ahmed Bassam Zaki. We receive a dozen messages per minute from girls and women telling of personal incidents of harassment, abuse and rape, some dating back years."

Following Zaki's arrest, the campaign has swept up other well-known figures.

One of them is Mohamed Hashem, a writer and founder of a top publishing house, who was detained over harassment allegations but later released on bail.

The current momentum builds on earlier #MeToo waves in Egypt, the latest in January following a mob assault on two women in Mansoura, north of Cairo, on New Year's Eve.

The Zaki case highlights that sexual assault and harassment -- widely perceived to be more prevalent among the poorer classes -- pervades all levels of society.

Zaki is a former student of the prestigious American University in Cairo. He briefly went on to study in Barcelona but was expelled this month after a claim of online harassment by another student.

"We are talking about Class A, the creme de la creme of society who enrol in universities and schools worth tens of thousands of pounds annually," said Fathy Farid of Aman, an initiative against gender-based violence.

Campaigners hope the case will help shift attitudes in Egypt, which only criminalised sexual harassment in 2014.

Women in Egypt are often reluctant to speak out about sexual harassment, fearing public shaming and being blamed for wearing "provocative" clothing.

In stark contrast to the #MeToo revival, Egypt has also seen an ongoing campaign targeting female TikTok influencers accused of "indecency and immorality".

Among recent cases is that of a 17-year-old girl who was arrested after posting a TikTok video in which she said she had been gang raped by a group of young men.

These girls "suffer discrimination and bullying" and their arrests "are part of violence against women because they come from lower classes," said lawyer Intesar al-Saeed.

The Instagram group administrator also reported "a lot of these messages" attacking the women, but added that "they are nothing compared to the messages of support".

As more online testimonies have kept pouring in, the National Council for Women said it had received at least 400 complaints and enquiries on sexual harassment and abuse.

The government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has taken some action.

His cabinet has approved amendments, yet to be passed by parliament, to the criminal code that would grant the right of anonymity to victims of sexual assault.

And the prestigious religious institution Al Azhar released a strongly-worded statement lambasting harassment as "forbidden and deviant".

The Dar al-Iftar, in charge of issuing religious edicts, slammed those who blame women for wearing provocative clothing as "sick".

The Instagram activist said the goal is, "if we're not forced to shut down the account for any reason, to turn Assault Police into a platform for women to share their stories.

Egypt has seen a strong resurgence of the #MeToo movement after dozens of women made shocking claims of sexual abuse and assault by a member of the country's wealthy elite.

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