When Stacy (not real name) was accepted for internship in her “dream” company, she was determined to make a lasting impression not just on her colleagues but her supervisors. She had no idea that her determination was to be taken advantage of by the Human Resource Manager who started attempting to get sexual favours from her desperation for the job. As her internship came to an end and she made attempts to be retained, she was told to put her “beauty” to good use.
This is the reality for many young female job seekers in Uganda. How much are you willing to give up to land a job in a competitive market that favours male job seekers. To be clear, asking an employee for sexual contact in exchange for workplace tantamount to sexual harassment.
The two main types of sexual harassment are hostile work environment harassment and quid pro quo harassment. Quid pro quo is a latin word for “this for that.” Quid pro quo usually happens when an employer or boss tries to exchange sexual contact for work benefits. This type of harassment can happen when an employer makes sex with a prospective employee a requirement for getting the job.
What should you do when this happens? Brenda Laker, a human resource practitioner says, this behaviour should not be tolerated and should be “nipped from the bud.” She says, “If the employee submits to the requests for sexual favours, they always diminish their rights to file a sexual harassment complaint. So for the sake of filing a suit in the future, be sure not to tolerate such advances from the beginning.”
Ismael Ssembatya, a veteran journalist and occasional counsellor to his colleagues, says such cases are not new to him. Ssembatya fondly referred to as Ssalongo says he has dealt with a number of girls who have sought his wise counsel. He says, “My advise to these girls is often two fold, there will be no guarantee that after giving in, the job will be yours. Let your work speak for you always, and should you not be retained, you will always walk out with dignity and your head high.”
He adds that if you give in and the other supervisors find out, chances are that you will lose both your job and dignity if your affair strongly goes against company policy on sexual matters.
Victims of sexual harassment are often made to feel bad about themselves by others in the workplace. Others may accuse them of inviting the harassment and might discourage you from taking action that would reflect badly on the company. But under no circumstances sho
