Africa-Press – Ghana. Stakeholders at a roundtable on sexual harassment in Accra have described the act as a severe human rights violation. They observed that most perpetrators were not aware of the magnitude of their actions, hence did not see anything wrong with what they did.
Indecent assault Giving further explanation, one of the discussants, lawyer and Convenor of the Affirmative Action Bill Coalition, Sheila Minkah-Premo, noted that depending on how far the perpetrator went with the harassment, the offence could be criminal.
“When sexual harassment occurs, it depends on how far the person goes. In the Criminal Offences Act for instance, there is what we call indecent assault, which is touching a person inappropriately, like touching the person’s buttocks, etc. It’s an offence, it’s a crime, you can be in prison for up to three years or you pay a fine,” she said. Criminal law
Section 103 of the Criminal Offences Act deals with indecent assault. Section 103(2) says: “A person commits the criminal offence of indecent assault if, without the consent of the other person, that person (a) forcibly makes a sexual bodily contact with the other person or (b) sexually violates the body of the other person, in a manner not amounting to carnal knowledge or unnatural carnal knowledge.”
Ms Minkah-Premo also noted that some of the perpetrators went as far as raping the victims, which was also a very serious offence, hence sexual harassment in any form should not be taken lightly. The discussion held last Tuesday was on the theme: “Addressing Sexual Harassment at the Workplace.” Education
In her delivery, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Kathleen Addy, urged management of institutions to educate their workers on the subject, stressing that education would “provide a platform for empowering them”.
“The NCCE, as part of its mandate, educates, formulates, implements and oversees programmes intended to inculcate in the citizens awareness of their civic responsibilities, so that they can appreciate their rights and obligations. We are doing our quota; institutions should also do the same,” she noted.
Awareness Furthermore, the General Manager, Human Resource and Administrator of Media General, Ama Lawson, said the awareness of the rights and protections of workers against sexual harassment at the workplace as enshrined in the laws of the country should be clearly stated and defined by institutions.
“This is a topic that has to be discussed seriously and should be deeply understood because most often, the staff members know what it is, they have heard about it, and they can tell when they see one, but when it comes to how to go about it in terms of policies at the workplace, then there is an issue. I think things should be made clear,” she said.
Support systems Mrs Lawson added that if an individual was found to have committed such an act, whether it was a man or a woman, the victim should be able to report the matter and the organisation should have the support systems in place to protect the victim throughout.
“Staff should be aware of the policies in place and should be familiar with the disciplinary process and know exactly what will happen to you should you be found,” she said. Furthermore, Mrs Lawson noted that sexual harassment could be done by both males and females.
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