Winkers are guilty of sexual harassment

The Sexual Offences Amendment Bill tabled by Hon Florence Mutua, the Busia Woman Representative, provides food for thought.

Sexual harassment constitutes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours and other mild transgressions and annoyances which are sexual in nature. The offender could be anyone – male or a female - such as a teacher, doctor, friend, co-worker, trainer, lecturer or student.

The victim does not have to be the person directly harassed, but anyone who finds the behaviour offensive and is affected by it. It should be clear that sexual harassment does not always lead to sexual intercourse; but more often than not, a victim may consent or agree to a certain conduct and actively participate in it even though it is offensive and objectionable.

Making sexual comments, winking, dirty jokes, gestures, or commenting about a person’s body or sex life, looking or staring at a person in a sexual manner, touching, grabbing, pinching, or brushing up against someone in a sexual way, flashing or mooning, spreading rumours about a person’s activities or relationships, blocking passage in a sexually suggestive or offensive way, writing sexual messages, love notes or sexual graffiti, pulling clothes down or off or dressing in transparent clothes, calling a person a sexual name, spying on someone or using camera phones to take pictures of someone while he/she is showering or dressing, demands or requests for dates, unwanted emails, letters, or phone calls and forced kissing... that is all sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment interferes with an individual’s welfare, academic or work performance since it creates an intimidating, hostile and offensive environment. A recent survey done among flower farm workers in a Rift Valley town here in Kenya indicated that 60 per cent of female workers have endured sexual harassment.

Women claimed that they had been bullied, touched, received unwanted advances, subjected to inappropriate sexual jokes, or received unsolicited sexual messages.

There are several types of aggressors: Public harassers express their sexist attitudes towards colleagues openly. Private harassers only unleash their fangs when alone with the victim, while predatory harassers get sexual thrills from humiliating others.

These harassers may become involved in sexual extortion and may frequently harass just to see how targets respond. Those who do not resist may even become targets of rape. Strategic harassers are perhaps the most common. They engage in a harassing or intimidating behaviour as an ego boost, and to show their superiority over others. Strategic territorial harassers seek to maintain privilege in their jobs or physical locations.

Power-play harassers insist on sexual favours in exchange for benefits they can offer due to their position or power, for example keeping a job, promotion, getting good academic grades and other opportunities. Mother or father figure harassers will try to create a fatherhood or motherhood type of relationship. The main aim is to get into a relationship in order to satisfy their needs.

Gang harassers do it because they think it is funny. It occurs when groups of men or women embarrass others with dirty comments or unisexual attention. Groper harassers strike whenever the opportunity presents itself.

They start by wondering about the coincidence of the meeting and give it a positive and kind analysis. They like to insist on kisses, hugs and sometimes rubbing the buttocks or a woman’s breast, or even a man’s penis. This can possibly happen in an elevator, when working late at the office or during a departmental party.

Confidante harassers approach subordinates, students or friends and start sharing information about their own life experience and difficulties, and by way of inventing stories, they win admiration and sympathy. They will also invite subordinates to share theirs so as to make them feel valued and trusted. Soon, the relationship intensifies and it becomes difficult to separate.

Intellectual harassers are found in educational settings and they will try to use their knowledge and skills as an avenue to gain access to students for sexual purposes. This is by making students participate in studies or group discussions that reveal details about their sexual experiences, preferences and habits.

What really causes sexual harassment? And how is Hon Mutua and her colleagues going to address it?

First and foremost, cultural beliefs tolerate sexual harassment because of their dominating stance against women. Some traditions suggest that a woman’s higher calling is to please men. Such attitudes often end up in schools, social places or even workplaces and can give the wrong impression, for instance, that women invite sexual advances at work.

Sexualised environments, like dance or cinema halls, bars, poorly lit streets and halls, and dark alleys, tempt the harasser. Pornographic material, vulgar language and explicit sexual talk create an atmosphere that encourages sexual harassment. Low moral standards and sexual permissiveness in society is another cause of sexual harassment.

The results of sexual harassment are enormous. In educational environments where sexual harassment occurs almost on a daily basis, the impact can be similar to that of the workplace. Increased absenteeism by students to avoid harassment as well as increased student turnover may be experienced. Harassment may lead to conflict amongst students and teachers, decreased productivity and performance, and decreased participation in school activities. Loss of trust in the administration due to indifference to sexual harassment within the school compound is inevitable.

Other psychological and health effects on someone who has been sexually harassed may include depression, nightmares, panic attacks, sleeplessness, feeling betrayed, fear for personal safety, shame, anxiety, lack of concentration, fatigue, eating disorders leading to weight loss or gain, and indulging in alcoholism and substance abuse. Suicidal thoughts or attempts may also arise.

Finally, if you allow sexual harassment to flourish in your workplace, you will pay a high price in terms of poor employee morale, low productivity and possible lawsuits.

Dr Peter Njogu Kibutu is a Bishop, an author and a lecturer at Kenyatta University. He is specialised in moral theology.