Ms Freda Aniwaah Boateng, Group Head, Legal & Corporate Services, Allianz Ghana, believes that men making lewd or romantic remarks towards women on the job constitutes sexual harassment.
“If you are a young lady and your employer has ordered you to welcome him each morning when he goes to work, and you are unable to refuse because he has power over your pay rise, appointment, or sustenance, this is workplace harassment.
“Very fast, it will progress to let’s go on a lunch date, then a dinner date, and so on.”
She made the remarks during a seminar on Thursday in Accra organized by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association on the topic “Gender Based Violence: Impact on Health and Productivity in a COVID-19 World.”
Ms Boateng emphasized that sexual harassment at work included not just physical touches but also verbal remarks.
According to her, such harassments decreased the victim’s morale and willingness to comfortably contribute their best work.
Ms Boateng stated that sexual remarks or addresses through social media (WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, etc.) and/or physical contact at employers’ bungalows, places of employment, social events, and trips were all forms of workplace harassment that needed to be prevented immediately.
She urged corporations and job practices to implement policies that empower victims to speak up when they are abused.
Ms Boateng expressed regret that Ghana had not ratified the Convention 190 on workplace abuse and harassment.
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She urged women to refrain from passing judgement on victims of rape and violence and to encourage one another to speak out for their concerns.
Chief Superintendent Juliana Agyeiwaa Dartey, Director of Nursing Services at the Police Hospital, urged women to abstain from accepting money and presents from their male employers in order to minimize the possibility of sexual harassment.
“There is nothing quite like a complimentary meal. If you continue to take his money, he will eventually expect something in return,” she said.
SOURCE: ATLFMONLINE
