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IT was an intense moment when police women accused their male bosses of  sexual harrassment.
 While it took years of suffering to speak out, sexual harassment is “one of the employment hazards,”a victim admits. 

 Viola Mugerwa, a secretary at a private firm, quit her job because she couldn’t respond to her boss’ demands for sex.  

 A few months into her job, she was asked to put in extra hours, which she didn’t mind until the boss bluntly asked her to a hotel room.  She left without that month’s payment.
Mugerwa never knew about the existence of a sexual harassment policy or what her rights were. “If I was supposed to report, to whom would I go to? The owner of the company was also the recruiting manager. Besides, with the little salary I had, I couldn’t

afford a lawyer. It would be his word against mine, she says.

While Mugerwa decided to quit, two friends who work for a media consultancy reported the matter to the human resource manager. They had just been handed booklets about the  company’s policy and the one on sexual harrassment promised justice.

  “We compiled all the e-mails he sent us and forwarded them to the authorities as proof of harassment,” Rose and Martha narrate. The two young women feared to confront their immediate supervisor because of the dire consequences it would have on their appraisals. They still don’t know what transpired but their supervisor never harrassed them again.

 The United Nations Development Fund for Women defines sexual harassment as unwanted verbal, non-verbal, physical or visual conduct based on sex or of a sexual nature; the acceptance or rejection of which affects an individual’s employment.

According to Makerere University’s  Faculty of Law, it is a form of discrimination and is unconstitutional. It is intimidating, offensive and not reciprocated. If the behaviour is unwelcome, it can amount to sexual harassment even if the harasser is “innocent.” Thus the criterion for ‘unwelcome’ is based on the perception of the victim and not that of the harasser.

Section 7 of the Employment Act, 2006, requires a firm that employs more than 25 people to put in place measures aimed at curbing sexual harrassment.

 Mary Nabunya, the human resource manager at Huawei Technologies, says the practice is likely to thrive if a company in its policy doesn’t specifically define what sexual harrassment is.    

Beatrice Langa, the personnel manager at Aid Services International, says those harassed keep quiet because they fear to lose their jobs. For others, lack of evidence against their oppressors makes them keep quiet.

Nabunya says some people say nothing because they fear to be mistaken as having over-reacted to a trivial issue. Other times, they keep quiet because it is not clearly defined and there’s no clear policy for handling it.

Confidentially, according to  Nabunya, is vital if a company is to help the victims. “Employees ought to know about the existence of a sexual harrassment policy. Define the conditions under which harrassment qualifies to be sexual. Point out the repercussions. Employees should know where to go in case they have to report,” she stresses.
  While it is mostly women who are the victims, some men are also harassed, but it is rare.

Tips for fighting the vice
• Assertiveness and aggressiveness by the victims who should tell off the ‘harrassers.’
• Having clear repercussions for the offenders
• Reporting to the responsible authorities