On sexual harassment in the workplace

Sexual harassment is a social problem that has become institutionalized, especially in the African society where men are in control and hold the ace on women’s survival. In such societies, women remain vulnerable to sexual harassment at the workplace because they need the income to survive. It is, therefore common for employers to ask for sexual gratification before employment even when such women have the requisite qualification and skill.

In some cases, sexual gratification is used as the criterion for promotion and women that refuse are victimised. In Nigeria, the high rate of unemployment in addition to harsh economic realities and having few job alternatives have made many women tolerate sexual advances and molestation from their employers or superiors. Indeed, in a patriarchal society like Nigeria, acts of sexual harassment are usually condoned; it is therefore accepted as a norm among some people to use sexual harassment as a tool to keep women subordinated to men.

This in return preserves men’s traditional dominance over women and also takes away the voice of women in fighting for their basic rights. In reality, many people in Nigeria do not know that they have engaged in sexual harassment because the culture has in a way made it normal for men to pursue their sexual interest in women in aggressive ways while women have over time been told it is normal and acceptable.

And because of this, many women do not report sexual harassment especially in the workplace because they are not taken seriously and are often blamed for whatever happens. Reporting such may cost them their jobs because there is usually no support system; aside loss of income, it may also lead to damage of their reputation. Consequently, women have learnt to establish coping mechanisms like ignoring, turning such into a bad joke, avoiding the source of harassment or even giving in to avoid conflicts.

And because sexual harassment has become a social menace, there had been legislations made to protect women in Nigeria. But these laws are suffering from lack of implementation due to various reasons which primarily include norms and traditions as well as gender division of roles which are inculcated into people from an early age from their homes and which they have grown to accept as normal. These norms are part of the reasons women are kept from participating in leadership roles and why many women have allowed societal expectations determine what they do and the level of their aspirations.

Because of upbringing and cultural socialisation, women’s perception of themselves as well as their goals and expectation remains a limiting factor in enforcing laws intended to protect them from discrimination as only few enlightened women are aware of the laws and policies put in place, understand their self-worth and work toward using the law to protect themselves usually to the chagrin of their peers who still live with societal expectations.

Understanding that women must be protected has not yielded the required results despite diverse legislation and domestication of charters. Though the Nigerian government continues to express its commitment to eliminating discrimination by ratifying international instruments and has continued to make provisions under its national and local laws to achieve this objective, most of these laws face implementation challenges.

What are the laws available for protection of Nigerian women against sexual harassment? There are indeed various legislations; we have the protection under CEDAW, Sexual Harassment Bill, protection under the African Charter, protection under national laws, the legal system itself, the Constitution, Child’s Rights Act 2003, Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 (VAPPA), Discriminatory laws, Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill  and the Sexual Offences Act Bill 2013 amongst others.

CEDAW was one of the earliest protection laws ratified in Nigeria; it was ratified in 1985 to bring into focus and promote women’s rights as the convention affirms that discrimination against women still exist and violates the principles of equality of rights. It covers the protection for civil and legal status of women and addresses the impact of cultural factors on gender relations such as cultural stereotypes, customs and norms which give rise to constraints on the advancement of women.

To be continued

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