A petition made available to the Maravi Post to the Ombudsman by women in the Malawi human rights defenders coalition has demanded that immediate action be taken to resolve outstanding sexual harassment claims in the workplace in institutions of higher learning, government departments and parastatals
The petition reads, We, women in the Malawi human rights defenders coalition, have noted with concern the allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace in institutions of higher learning, government departments and parastatals.
Over the years there have been allegations of women that have been sexually harassed at the public broadcaster as well as in other parastatals and government departments. Most of these women have been unable to lodge complaints while some that have been able to lodge complaints have not been assisted in an effective manner.
As such, this practice has remained unchecked and women have continued suffering. Although there are these cases that have been made public, we are sure that there are many more cases that are out there, and women are suffering silently.
We believe that both the Constitution of Malawi provides a broad framework for the protection of all Malawians, and specifically the Gender Equality Act (GEA) provides remedies toward the same in section 6 (2) ‘A person who sexually harasses another in terms of subsection (I) commits an offence and is liable to a fine of one million Kwacha (K 1,000,000) and to a term of imprisonment for five (5) years’.
However, despite the existence of these provisions, there has been a lack of enforcement due the prevailing environment which limit survivors from reporting incidences which ultimately has an effect on the well-being of the concerned women.
The time has come for women to be free of sexual harassment in the workplace and for employers to be at the forefront of protecting women in the workplace.
Sexual Harassment is an obstruction to the full enjoyment of Women’s Human Rights.
The Gender Equality Act (2013) defines Sexual harassment as ‘an act of sexual harassment if he or she engages in any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature in circumstances in which a reasonable person, having regard to all the circumstances, would have anticipated that the other person would be offended, humiliated or intimidated’.
There is need to stress the link between violence against women and human rights, and to emphasize that such violence is a human right violation.
The Effects of Gender Based Violence
Sexual harassment has acute physical, psychological, and social consequences; Women who have been subjected to this often experience psychological trauma: depression, terror, guilt, shame, loss of self-esteem. Sexual harassment can occur anywhere and can take a whole range of forms, that is why it is important to bring this evil to light
Our Demands
We make a call on your office to:
1. Urgently institute an investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment perpetuated by senior managers at the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation as lamented by some female staff officers who have since left MBC
2. Ensure that a sexual harassment policy is instituted and operationalized at Malawi Broadcasting Corporation and other parastatals and government departments
3. Once allegations are proven, provide restoration to the women survivors of sexual harassment
