SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK

Recently a post on twitter went viral, in the post a man claimed he had been dismissed from work because he said to his colleague “You look so beautiful and your breasts fuller. Are you sure you are breastfeeding your son at all?’ It was a joke but she didn’t find it funny and if it really happened then she was right to report. An unwanted kiss, inappropriate comments about one’s appearance, sexually offensive jokes…these are just a few examples of Sexual Harassment in the workplace.

Many times the kind of sexual harassment we hear about takes place in Higher Institutions but in the workplace it happens just as often if not more. Sexual Harassment in the workplace is like the elephant in the room, everyone knows it’s there but there is a reluctance to talk about it. That’s why despite being a phenomenon that occurs widely most incidents go unreported. One reason for this is that many organisations do not even have a Sexual Harassment Policy and even where it exists it’s of little or no use due to poor design or lack of implementation.

WHAT IS SEXUAL HARASSMENT?

Before going further I would like to define Sexual Harassment. According to the National Industrial Court (NIC) Order 14(1) of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria Civil Procedure Rules 2017 Sexual Harassment at the workplace is the following:

·    Physical conduct of a sexual nature: such as unwanted physical contact, ranging from touching to sexual assault and rape, strip search by or in the presence of the opposite sex, gesture that constitutes the alleged sexual harassment ; and/or

·      A verbal form of sexual harassment: such as unwelcome innuendoes, suggestions and hints, sexual advances, comments with sexual overtones, sex related jokes or insults, or unwelcome graphic comments about a person's body, unwelcome and inappropriate enquiries about a person's sex life and unwelcome whistling at a person or group of persons, any document, material or exhibit in further support of the claim; and/or

·        A non-verbal form of sexual harassment which includes unwelcome gestures, indecent exposures, and unwelcome display of sexually explicit pictures and objects ; and/or

·        Quid pro quo harassment where an owner, employer, supervisor, member of management or co-employee undertakes or attempts to influence or influences the process of employment, promotion, training, discipline, dismissal, salary increments or other benefits of an employee or job applicant in exchange for sexual favours."

TYPES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

From the foregoing one can clearly see that sexual harassment can either be Physical i.e physical violence, touching, unnecessary close proximity. It can be Verbal i.e comments and questions about appearance, life-style, sexual orientation, offensive phone calls and even non-verbal i.e whistling, sexually-suggestive gestures, display of sexual images and the like.

It can further be broken down into Quid pro quo or a hostile work environment.

Quid pro quo harassment involves one party seeking sexual favours from another for a workplace benefit, such as a promotion. While hostile work environment can take on subtle forms, co-workers may be unaware that their behaviour is causing others to feel discomfort. Clearly defining what a hostile work environment is can help provide your employees with a sense of direction.

It is therefore clear what constitutes sexual harassment so why do so many victims tolerate it? A major reason is because of the lack of assurance that anything will be done if they report.

Unfortunately in many organization complaints of sexual harassment are ignored or taken lightly. This should stop as it could have a far reaching effect on not just the victim but the entire organization. Employers that ignore cases of sexual harassment pay the price in low morale, decreased productivity, increased absenteeism and health care cost, as people who are subjected to such can face serious mental health issues. Employers by virtue of the Employees Compensation Act may even have to compensate staff whose mental health issues arose out of trauma experienced in the workplace.

HOW CAN ORGANISATIONS TACKLE SEXUAL HARASSMENT?

One major step employers can take to prevent sexual harassment in the work place is for them to include a sexual harassment policy in their employee handbook. The sexual harassment policy should do some of the following;

·        Define what clearly constitutes sexual harassment. Give clear examples so that no one feigns ignorance or is in doubt.

·        Ensure there is a well set out reporting procedure so that sexual harassment complaints can be made easily. This should also include a channel for those who may want to make anonymous complaints.

·         Let people who report be assured that there will be protected from any backlash i.e. retribution

·         There have been cases of false accusation of sexual harassment so a good policy should include sanctions for reports that are false.

·         It should provide for trainings to be carried out periodically to ensure that employees are constantly aware of what sexual harassment is and what the organization stand is towards it.

·         Disciplinary consequences should be crystal clear so that people know exactly what sanctions perpetrators will face.

Employers and employees also need to be aware that where sexual harassment reports are not handled properly then the victims can seek legal redress in the court of law. In fact apart from the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which provides that every Nigerian is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person, Lagos State has a provision in its Criminal Law where anyone found guilty of sexual harassment can face up to 3 years in prison

Therefore any employee who is a victim of any of the above actions can institute an action at the National Industrial Court and get remedies including damages, compensation and an injunction. This is by virtue of Section 254(C) (1) (g) of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended in 2010) which grants the National Industrial Court of Nigeria exclusive jurisdiction over causes and matters “relating to or connected with any dispute arising from discrimination or sexual harassment at the workplace.”

In fact in a recent case, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) awarded damages in deserving cases against perpetrators of workplace sexual harassment. In Pastor (Mrs.) Abimbola Patricia Yakubu V Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria& Anor (Suit No NICN/LA/673/2013; judgement delivered on the 24th November, 2016), the claimant's case was that she was at various times subjected to continuous sexual and seductive gestures and compliments, promiscuous and obscene talks, demand for sexual favours and indecent marriage proposal from the 2nd defendant while she was in the employment of the 1st defendant. The NICN held that the claimant's right to human dignity and self-worth was violated by the 2nd defendant and awarded the sum of N5,000,000 (Five Million Naira) as damages in favour of the claimant.

Ultimately it is up to all of us to come together to change the culture of pervasive sexual harassment in Nigeria, especially in the workplace. Women will have to be at the forefront of change as in most (not all) sexual harassment cases women are the victims. Women (and men) should know that they have a right to work without being groped, fondled or be subjected to all sort of crude advances and lewd comments no matter what. It is therefore time for more discussions on this issue, and for Organisations to ensure they have a well-designed and effective policy that will reduce sexual harassment to the barest minimum.