Human Rights Lawyer Bemoan Sexual Harassment at Workplaces
A HUMAN RIGHTS lawyer Prisca Dube, has expressed concern over rampant sexual harassment at places, saying for the issue to be drastically dealt with, the Labour Act must address sextortion.
Speaking at a recent workshop hosted by Emthonjeni Women’s Forum in Bulawayo, Dube said for the issue of sexual harassment to be effectively addressed, sextortion must be clearly highlighted in the law and proper methods put in place to arrest it.
The Labour Amendment Bill, which was passed into law earlier this year sought to address issues of maternity leave, child labour and sexual harassment in the workplace among other things.
What is Sextortion?
“Issues of sexual harassment in Zimbabwe unfortunately has a serious twin that most people ignore which is sextortion. This is where sex is used as a currency for a corrupt activity for instance in Universities there are issues of sex for marks,” said Dube.
She said such scenarios also happen at workplaces where someone uses sex to get overtime so that they supplement their salary or avoid getting transferred to places they might not like, and both parties would’ve broken the law.
Dube highlighted that having sexual relations at workplaces is an offense and laws must be aligned to international best practises to deal with such.
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How to Effectively Address It
“Having sexual relations with workmates is not part of the contract, and therefore, as a country we need to deal with sextortion. As human rights lawyers we pray that the minister will take it upon himself and have regulations that will amplify issues of sexual harassment and put reporting mechanisms and how such can be linked to ILO c190 and other broader provisions which are currently not available in Zimbabwe,” she said.
Emthonjen Women’s Forum director, Sikhathele Mathambo, said their organisation also contributed to the amendments made to the Act in respect to issues of sexual harassment.
“We are happy with the progress being made so far towards addressing issues of sextortion at workplaces and we hope the media will play a significant role in educating the people about the legislation,” she said.
Lastly, Zimbabwe has been faced with sex scandals at workplaces within the media industry, with a latest incident being that of Power FM Station Manager, DJ Scott who was suspended for pestering female employee for oral sex in return for offering her a job.
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