Sexual Harassment: Who is going to stop it?

Sexual harassment is a big issue in many work places in Nigeria.

On July 31, 2017, Pulse Gist published a story from an anonymous woman.

In her letter the lady detailed how she was allegedly raped by her boss. This sad story was one of the top stories on the site soon enough.

The harrowing thing about this story is that it is not a lone incident. Sexual harassment is pretty common in offices all over the world. In Nigeria where few companies but in structures to avoid or punish such a thing, it is quite common.

 

In a survey on sexual harassment published by Pulse Gist on Tuesday, August 1, 2017, 42.9% of the women who took part in it said they have been sexually harassed by a male colleague or boss before.

Astonishingly, all the ladies claimed that they have received inappropriate sexual remarks from a male colleague or boss before. This should give an insight into what women face in the corporate world.

Stories of women sleeping with potential employers to get a job or ladies sleeping with their boss to keep their job or get a promotion are often heard. Although, the women who participated in our survey didn't indicate that they were forced to sleep with their boss to get a promotion or keep their job.

 

However, the survey further revealed that 14.3% women resigned their jobs due to constant sexual harassment. And how many times do they get sexually harassed? The results are tied with 42.9% saying "regularly" and 42.9% saying rarely. 

42.9% is an awfully high percentage of women who get sexually harassed in their place of work. The labour laws in Nigeria are hardly ineffective. The Nigerian Labour Congress is usually worried about the price of fuel than anything else.

In a country where the minimum wage is terribly low and millions of workers are owed months in salaries, the NLC is notoriously quiet. It would be beyond optimistic that the NLC would bother with sexual harassment in the work place.

And with the country's attitude towards rape and sexual violence in the society, there is nothing in place to stop sexual harassment in the work place for now in Nigeria.

from pulse.ng - Nigeria's entertainment & lifestyle platform online