Chronicle Editor
Garikayi Chipfunde
TWO women, Tendai and Tanaka, (real names withheld), who are recent Information Communication Technology (ICT) graduates, came face to face with a sad reality on the job market when they rejected their bosses’ sexually masked jokes that graduated into request for sexual favours.
They got frustrated every passing day, when in fact, after acquiring skills from a renowned university they never thought they would face gender discrimination at workplace.
They were in a quandary about what to do when their peers even some of their relatives were putting pressure on them to accept sexual snares from their bosses to enable them to be upgraded and enjoy a pay rise.
“The question was, should we take heed of the advice from social relations and dance to the tune of sexually undisciplined bosses to get promoted or to get equal salary with our peers and avoid being axed from employment.
“But then, we are graduates, what is the rationale of going to school when we could have gotten the job in exchange for sexual abuse,” said Tendai.
Tendai and Tanaka’s experiences are just a tip of the iceberg of how sexual harassment has long been allowed to exist in workplaces.
By virtue of holding certain offices, some would want to abuse authority associated with those offices by asking for sexual favours from female subordinate workers.
Some of these attitudes also emanate from some cultural norms and practices of prejudicing women. This is despite the level of skills they possess, in some circles women are still given subordinate roles even when they are highly qualified for the job.
The causes are partly because of a socialisation of suffering in silence, lack of self-confidence or social relations of power skewed in favour of men in most circumstances.
In some situations, other incentives such as promotion are treated as special favours yet they are legally provided for, requiring no discrimination on the basis of sex or gender.
One of the negative consequences of sexual harassment is that it compromises women’s intellectual and productive capacities at work.
Once exposed to sexual harassment, some get frustrated and develop negative attitudes towards the employing organisation because they would be thinking it is derived from the organisation’s policy.
Sexual harassment, also called sexual violence could cause the victims to lose their jobs, suffer physical and emotional pain, loss of income and various other negative consequences.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) says sexual harassment are behaviours in workplaces manifesting in the form of offensive phone calls or non-verbal comments such as sexually suggestive gestures and display of sexual materials, physical violence, which effectively compromises equality and quality of work among others.
There are some legal and human rights instruments that prohibit sexual harassment in workplaces but the lived realities of women leave a lot to be desired.
At national level, the Labour Act Chapter 28:01 section 8 (h) for example, regards sexual harassment at workplaces as unacceptable.
The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 20, 2013 as the supreme law of the country is very clear on rights and freedoms as well as non-discrimination on any basis. Section 44 obliges everyone including the State to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights and freedoms as set out in the Constitution at every level.
The ILO Violence and Harassment Convention No. 190 as read with Recommendation No. 206 provides for an inclusive, integrated and gender-responsive approach to put an end to violence and harassment.
There are various strategies to combat sexual harassment at workplaces. These include advocacy through provision of training materials on sexual harassment targeting both employers and employees.
Media advocacy through news articles is also another option to reach a wider audience to conscientise them about sexual harassment. Digital plattforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook among others could also be utilised for advocacy.
Law and policy reform can potentially address the issues not addressed by existing labour laws to strengthen institutions in the fight against sexual harassment. The fast tracking of the Sexual Harassment Bill into law should be prioritised.
In some cases, litigation could send right signals against sexual harassment as it would cost the employing organisation and the perpetrator to pay legal damages.
It also calls for close cooperation between labour organisations, women’s organisations including Zimbabwe Gender Commission among others to put a stop to sexual harassment in workplaces.
The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres in his keynote address at the 2021 International World Women’s Day emphasised the importance of unity of purpose in achieving women’s rights and to build a future based on equality and dignity for all.
Sidumisile Mabena
Online Reporter