African Women Lawyers Association

Membership

CURRENT PROJECTS

SEXUAL HARASSMENT… WHO IS HARASSING WHOM
(BY FRANCIS AMEYIBOR) - A REJOINDER BY THE AFRICAN WOMEN LAWYERS ASSOCIATION

30TH OCTOBER 2003

The African Women Lawyer’s Association is an NGO with the primary objective of promoting networking among professional women lawyers on the African Continent to effectively enhance the status of the African women. This, AWLA achieves through advocacy for gender rights simpliciter, and advocacy for legislation to remove all forms of discrimination against women and promote equal rights of women in Africa.

The project on Sexual Harassment is just one of the many that we have undertaken since we were incorporated. It was our aim to collect qualitative and quantitative data on the incidence of sexual harassment in the workplace and tertiary institutions and to formulate a ‘Checklist of Best Practices’ to curb the incidence.

From the onset, and having in mind our objectives, we NEVER created nor did we attempt to create the false premises that only men are the perpetrators of sexual harassment.

Background to Project Study:

Prior to the Survey, we undertook a pilot study in the first quarter of the year 2003. It was evident from that study that although women represent over half of Ghana’s population (51.4%) more than 85% of these women are in subordinate official roles to their male colleagues who mostly are bosses. This unequal power relations exist in both the formal and informal sectors.

It was revealed in the pilot study that Sexual Harassment takes place where there is unequal balance in the relations between the victim and the perpetrator, and where the perpetrator is in a position of influence over the former.

Article 15(1) of the Constitution of Ghana (1992) provides that the dignity of the human being shall be inviolable. Sexual harassment is a demeaning practice that constitutes a violation of the dignity of the human being who is subjected to it.

Sexual harassment is therefore against the law.

For our purposes we defined sexual harassment as any unwelcome conduct, comment, gesture or contact of a sexual nature, whether on a one-time basis or a series of incidents, that might cause offence, humiliation, awkwardness or embarrassment, or that might reasonably be conceived as placing a condition of a sexual nature on employment, opportunity for promotion, grades, etc. there was no specific reference to a particular demographic group in our definition.

For this reason and the fact that Sexual harassment detrimentally affects a woman’s psychological and/or physical well-being and/or leads to negative job or academic environment-related consequences for her, we went ahead with this project.

We have however not glossed over the fact that Sexual Harassment cuts across gender. In our survey however, we concentrated on its perpetration against women which is prevalent the world over.

Men unfortunately in our part of the world are convinced that they have a right to a woman’s body and for this reason any attention towards women, albeit unpleasant, must and can never be rejected. WHAT A FARCE! This is male entitlement to a woman’s body.

It is in this very regard that comments about dresses worn by girls and women is such a big issue! The way a person dresses should not give another the right to sexually harass that person. None is justified in saying that the victim of Sexual Harassment asked for it because we all know there is such a thing as self-control.

This Survey has proved a suspicion we have always had of the many silent sufferers of sexual harassment who dare not speak up for fear of losing a job, a promotion or grades. In the tertiary institution its incidence is so alarming that the practice has been termed “Sexually Transmitted Grades” alias STGs! You give to the advances of whoever matters on the academic calendar and pass your exams or fail woefully.

It is rather disheartening to find a few disgruntled gentlemen crying foul for a ground breaking survey of this nature. The truth hurts, but then better to face it head on and deal with it lest it happen to your mother, sister, wife or friend or even a daughter!

AWLA discovered through consultative fora that there is an urgent need to formulate ‘best practices’ in the workplace and in academia. It was the general consensus that this form of advocacy would minimize the incidence of Sexual Harassment, in the formal workplace environs and in academia. Thus ultimately the Government, employers, workers and the general public would be sensitized to adopt a zero tolerance policy towards sexual harassment.

The objective of this checklist is to encourage discussions, to break down the barriers to an honest communication on the subject, to promote greater societal awareness of the dangers of sexual harassment as a workplace or schoolyard hazard, and to explore solutions. AWLA is hopeful that the presentation of this survey and the finding to the media and general public will ultimately curb the incidence of this phenomenon in Ghana.

AWLA THEREFORE DESERVES NOTHING LESS THAN AN AYEKOO!!!

Ongoing Programmes