When Nzisa* took an internship role at a tech company, she was the only woman working in her department. There were frequent flirtatious and unwelcome comments about, for example, how sexy she looked when she wore a dress, how nice her legs looked, etc.
“I saw boundaries being crossed but felt powerless to do something about it. I was new, I did thought that was how the office environment was,” Nzisa* says. “It felt like picking battles and I wasn’t picking that one.”
This behaviour towards her continued for a while, until one day when a male colleague, senior to her, invited her to his office for a ‘discussion’, then grabbed her behind, to her surprise. In any other context, she would have slapped him, she says. But she could not imagine slapping someone at work, much less her superior. Yet, standing there, in shock, she could not fathom the entitlement, the thought, the deed, the nerve! The nerve of that man! He stared at her, with a smirk on his face. As if to trigger a reaction.
She quickly walked back to her cubicle, fighting back tears. Nzisa* was furious! She was ashamed. She wanted to scream. But, she couldn’t. She cried. She covered her mouth to prevent any scream from escaping her trembling lips. Lest someone heard her and asked what the problem was.
Powerless. That is how she describes the feeling. That moment, in her cubicle, however, after weeks of words that made her extremely uncomfortable, made it clear to her, “This is harassment. This isn’t a funny joke,” in her words.
Nzisa’s* story is hardly unique. FIDA Kenya, an organization dedicated to fight for human rights, unveiled that nearly 40% of all cases of violence reported to them included a form of sexual harassment.
Even when you know that what is happening is not right, it can be intimidating to try to figure out if it crosses the line into something legally wrong. And deciding what to do about it can be just plain overwhelming, especially when you are stuck in an emotionally draining and sometimes traumatizing situation.
Starting with basics, let us understand what sexual harrassment is.
According to the Kenyan Constitution 2010, Under the Sexual Offences Act, a person may be found guilty of sexual harassment if any person, who being in a position of authority, or holding a public office, persistently makes any sexual advances or requests which he or she knows, or has reasonable grounds to know, are unwelcome. The penalty of the offence is imprisonment for a term of not less than three years or a fine of not less than Ksh. 100,000 (approx. USD 1,000) or both.
And that includes your boss. Whether male, or female.
Listed below are several examples of behavior or incidents that, if unwelcome, could constitute sexual harassment in the workplace.
- Comments about someone’s appearance.
- Conversations, questions, and stories about sex.
- Staring and looking up and down.
- Following someone around.
- Rumors about someone’s sex life or use of sex to get ahead.
- Suggestive emails, text messages, or other communications.
- Sexist comments that are not necessarily sexual.
- Vulgar language, jokes about sex (or gender), and music with sexually explicit lyrics.
- Displays of pornography or sexually explicit or degrading materials.
- Unwanted touching or physical contact.
- Requests for sexual favors and pressure for sex.
- Threats based on rejection of sexual advances.
- .Rape and sexual assault.
Here is what you can do if you think you are being sexually harrassed at work.
1. Document it
Have some kind of a log of the incidents that are happening. This will help you point to specific dates and very specific comments or behaviours.
So when that colleague brushes up against you again or your boss makes yet another dirty joke at the staff meeting, write it down. If they send you a message, email, audio or video of something offensive, keep the records. This way, if you report the harassment to your employer or the police, you will be able to present detailed examples.
2. Make it clear it’s unwelcome
When dealing with behavior that is out of line and offensive but not necessarily predatory, stand up to the person and tell them to stop. Threaten to report them to HR or executive management.
If the harassment continues and you later decide to take your complaint to the employer or authorities, it can help to say that you had made it clear the conduct is unwelcome and asked for it to stop.
3. Consult a Lawyer
If you find the situation confusing, need advice on whether certain behaviors constitute sexual harassment, or have reason to worry that your employer won’t respond kindly or effectively to a report, you might want to seek legal advice.
4. Make a Change
In an effort to make the world a better place, however small, make a step to educate the men in your circle, friends and brothers about sexual harrassment. Tell them that it is not okay to harrass women. That little effort will have a ripple effect on the next generation.
These approaches are available to reduce the incidence of workplace sexual harassment. Setting strong policies prohibiting sexual harassment, workplace training, and a complaints handling process that protects workers from retaliation will go a long way in curbing this growing menace.
