The pain of sexual harassment at work

By Murigi Macharia

Sexual harassment is the commonly known form of workplace intimidation but the most difficult to define or proof because the victim is made to look bad by the aggressor.

It assumes devious proportions among supervisors and managers when it affects employment decisions like recruitment, rewards and training opportunities.

A direct consequence of the behaviour is that it interferes with workers’ productivity and professionalism.

Here is a run-down of the various forms of sexual harassment and how managers, heads of departments and supervisors misuse their positions to intimidate, harass, influence and create fear among their juniors.

Ridicule or unkind comments that make the target (victim) look silly, inadequate or incompetent.

Unwanted physical contact like unwelcome back-pats.

Direct demands for sexual favours.

Physical assault on workers.

Inappropriate discussions of sexual acts.

Your boss inviting or demanding that you join him/her at a social place with veiled threats.

Managers withholding promotion , training and other rewards for employees who deny them sexual favours..

There are many options open to the human resources department to defend junior employees against managers and supervisors of excessive libido.

The first step is to institutionalise a code of ethics that details sanctions and various forms of punishment and penalties, including summary dismissal for the ‘aggressors’.

This means publishing a clear policy statement on sexual harassment and the likely consequences

Most importantly, the human resources department must make it clear that all ‘suspects’ will be responsible for their actions when proven guilty.

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