We all love working in a secured and conducive environment. Job security is another thing everybody wants irrespective of gender. However, achieving this can sometimes become challenging than acquiring the job itself. Even more challenging when you’re a lady; A young, pretty and smart lady. From the moment you go job hunting, to your working years, you face one form of harassment to another. While most harassers are aware of the negative impacts their behavior and actions have on you and the progress of the organization, others simply perceive it as normal.
So What Is Sexual Harassment?
It is define as coercion of a sexual nature and the unwanted or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In simple language it is unwelcome sexual attention in the work environment, which could be expected to make a person feel offended, humiliated or intimidated and affect their ability to do their job or learn. It can be physical, verbal or written.
In offices in most cases, this occurs when a person in a position of power uses that power to coerce a subordinate into providing sexual favors. The imbalance of power creates a situation in which the subordinate does not feel free to say “no.” In The Gambia, women mostly fall victims, as culture have induced them to be timid, tolerant and submissive to men. As a result, they are continually harassed and intimidated. Most women go to work unhappy in anticipation of putting up with their bosses’ immoral behavior which is aim at demoralizing their values. This creates a kind of pressure which demotivates and limits women’s ability to showcase their full potentials. And with most perpetrators, there are no exceptions as to whether the victim is married or single.
These behaviors may include:
- Unwanted, repeated requests for dates
- Attaching personal conditions to your rightfully deserved promotion and personal development as a staff
- Offering employment in exchange for personal attention
- Sexual touching
- Sexual jokes and innuendoes
- Repeated attempts to turn a professional relationship into a personal one
What causes/result to sexual harassment
While there are many root causes to this illegal yet hardly talked about act, the factors below contribute to instances of sexual harassment at work:
- Socialization and cultural norm/set ups
- Poor management and abuse of authority and power
- The desire to protect occupational territory
- Lack of/inadequate company policy
- Improper response to harassment complaints
- Lack of moral values and ethics
- Job instability and desperation
- Reliance on Supervisors or Bosses for career success and development
- Immodest and irresponsible dress code
So the question I have is what is the role of Human Resource departments in organizations in The Gambia? Are they adequately empowered to deal with such illegal acts? Why aren’t women or men speaking up? Sexual harassment is hindering our progress as individuals, as institutions, and as a country. Women, in particular can offer much more than you can imagine, without necessarily having to spread their legs to get the job nor rightful benefits for development at work. So stop exploiting them!
Women empowerment is achievable but only when men stop seeing women as sexual objects and manipulate them to satisfy their libido.
Let’s share Knowledge!
I believe everything posted made a ton of sense. But, think on this, what
if you typed a catchier title? I ain’t suggesting your
content is not good., however suppose you added a title that grabbed folk’s attention? I mean Warm My Bed and Get Your Promotion! – My Jamano is kinda plain. You should peek
at Yahoo’s home page and see how they write article titles to grab viewers
to open the links. You might try adding a video or a pic
or two to grab readers interested about what you’ve written. Just my opinion, it
would make your posts a little bit more interesting.
Thanks a million for the tips Darren. Appreciate it and will surely take note.
Inspire of the poverty level we lived in , in ones mind , it might be consider a norm for some, as the saying do for me , and i do for you or scratch me back and i scratch yours. Well what an unethical behavior ? This have become a trade , this rendering a lot of incompetency within the working society. And hence this is a norm , then think we not of development , because sexual harassment within the working class is hardly reported. So who is to be blamed of this downgrading attitude?
In your own opinion, What do you think can be done to curb this behavior and break the culture of silence among people?
I don’t even know the way I finished up here, however I assumed this put up was once good. I don’t realize who you’re but definitely you are going to a famous blogger if you are not already Cheers!
I am in full support to eradicate this carcass from our work places, is rather unfortunate but togetherness I am positive we can make it work, believe you me this are some of the critical reasons why in African we have weak institutions because they end up given employment to those who do not Qualify but because they are ready to use their body in exchange for the job and rejecting the Qualified persons because those Ladies especially who knows their worth will never and never exchange their body in the name of Employment.
I couldn’t agree more. However, do you agree that there are instances when men are equally harassed? because a friend of mine who happen to meet this boss lady while looking for contracts was told by the lady to “make her feel like a woman” if he’d wanted to win the contract so bad. He had to do it, even though he never forgive himself.
Some male bosses can equally sack female staffs if they try their ways and get a negative response. And this is unarguably demotivating young people with the zeal to work.. HoW Can We Put A Stop To it??
Then workplaces need to be sanitised, but the story is complex too. It takes 2 to tango.
That’s true but in that case I doubt it’s sexual harassment.
Its happening in work places its now a normal thing for managers to just promote or employ girls that are of use to them and suppress the ones that they call “fools”. Promoting or employing one that has no clue about the job and handing them so much power at work, the girls need to educate themselves and have more confidence in tgem selves for this act is not decent and won’t last forever, time will come he will find you old and fish for younger ones. May Allah safe the Gambia.
My ladies, speak out!
This is absurd!
Some men lacks animalistic instinction which makes us different from animals. But I can only advise women to have faith in themselves never to sell their pride for the sake of job/promotion but rather your qualification and commitment should do that for you.
If this is really happening then a stop has to be put to it and we should not forget the ladies accepting it are the once helping it to grow
Many a times, the victims do not have a choice. The men capitalize on their powers and authority. And you know how difficult it is getting a decent job these days.
I don’t understand how people have sex forcefully with other, especially in exchange for something. Sex is best when it’s mutual.
Nice and very important topic that every manager should read and read again.
Every woman has suffered such unethical thing in some way but no way for them to speak out.
I suggest you make a French version of the topic aic let French people read it.
Thank you
Well, I look at it in two folds. 1. Economic reasons and Shame.
Shame
One of the primary reasons women don’t come forward to report sexual harassment or assault is shame. Shame is at the core of the intense emotional wounding women and men experience when they are sexually violated.
Economic
Some ladies don’t care the effects of being sexually abused in offices as long as they are getting their own benefits.
Sexual harassment is a rising issue in the Gambia which needs to be tackled now before its too late. Sexual harassment is not only unethical but also detrimental to our culture and societal values all together. Our laws has failed to adequately address the problems related to sexual harassment and most of the victims do not report such practices. What we need as a country is to have a value system to address the issues.
This is not an imagination but a reality, I personally experienced it. It is demotivating and painful. If our HR departments can come up with possible solutions to solve this hardship will go a long way in helping ladies to live up to their expectations at work.
#me too?
Please speak out especially victims.
#metoo..this is becoming very normal now
This is a very important topic that many people won’t want to speak about in the open. And you have captured all the factors that largely contribute to this canker. Thank you.
In addition to the HRM function, what is the senior management and board doing about such unethical behavior. Here are few suggestions companies consider:
1. Introduce whistle blowing policy
2. Education and townhall meeting on the matter
3. Department of state for labour should create complain channels and sanctions