New declaration sets out to raise awareness of harassment
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UCI President David Lappartient addresses the audience(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images Sport)
The women's peloton on the way back towards downtown during the US Pro Road Race National Championships on June 24, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
The women's peloton roll out at the British national championships(Image credit: SWpix.com)
The Il Lombardia peloton leaves the start in Bergamo(Image credit: Getty Images)
The peloton ploughs on(Image credit: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
The UCI has made necessary amendments to its Code of Ethics, regarding harassment and abuse, which took effect on November 1.
The three main changes include; 'anonymity of plaintiff' to better protect the victim’s privacy, dedicated reporting channels for filing complaints, and teams are now encouraged to identify a person of contact who has the right to collect information relating to situations of sexual harassment and abuse, and take action with the UCI Ethics Committee on behalf of a team or rider.
The UCI Code of Ethics was last updated in 2016, but the need for amendments was spurred on by the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) recent introduction of the Safeguarding Toolkit, launched ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. The toolkit aims to assist National Olympic Committees (NOC) and International Federations (IF) in the development of policies and procedures to safeguard athletes from harassment and abuse in sport.
The UCI discussed possible amendments to its own Code of Ethics at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck, and subsequently made the changes to its 30-page document this autumn.
Cyclingnews reported, that previous to the updated 2016 version, the ethics code only applied to UCI staff, commissaires, technical delegates and members of the various commissions and councils. Therefore, there was no legal basis to sanction Campana and he could not be held liable in the offences he was accused of in the de Volkskrant report.
Declaration of recognition of ethical principles
The UCI has made it clear that it intends to increase the protection of women in cycling after announcing its commitment to gender equality within the sport, as part of its Agenda 2022, under President David Lappartient.
UCI Code of Ethics: harassment and abuse, and three fundamental changes
The UCI Code of Ethics is a 30-page document that serves to define core values for behaviours and conduct within the UCI and its affiliates. At the Innsbruck World Championships, the UCI added two new amendments; regarding physical and mental integrity (harassment and abuse), and prevention of manipulation of events.
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