Victims urged to report sexual harassment to police
Superintendent Kumpe Teiku Gbele, the Sissala East Municipal Police Commander, has advised victims of sexual harassment to report their cases to the next available senior in a workplace or to the police.
Supt. Gbele also entreated children, girls and workers to save text messages, pictures and videos as evidence to enable them lodge formal complaints to the management.
He said victims must also report to the Police or the Commission on Human rights and administrative justice.
Supt. Gbele gave the advice at Tumu during ActionAid Ghana’s interactive session for artisans and some workers in the informal.
He said: “Regular and separate training of employees and employers, reporting procedures and sanctions made with easier reporting channels and prompt investigation of incidents or claims of sexual harassment by employers could help reduce the incidence of sexual harassment. “
The police officer advised persons in the process of being harassed to talk to the offender about their uncomfortability of their actions or tell trusted friend or a senior official about the harassment.
Supt. Gbele noted that sexual harassment could happen to both males and females.
Madam Abiba Nibaradun, the Upper West Area Programme’s Officer of ActionAid, took the participants through the International Labour Organization convention on maternity leave for women workers.
She stressed the importance of every worker to be free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence and harassment.
She said the violence and harassment in the world of work constituted a human rights violation or abuse and the recognition of the fact that violence and harassment affect the quality of public and private services, and therefore prevents women from remaining and advancing in the labour market.
Madam Nibaradun noted that violence and harassment in the workplace affected a person’s psychological, physical and sexual health, dignity, family and social environment and urged all to act to stop it.
Madam Nibaradun indicated that these types of programmes had taken place in Wa, Jirapa and realised that they would be of benefit to some of the non-formal sector workers in Tumu.
She urged parents to instill discipline in their children at home and workers at their workplaces and reminded them of existing laws that guided and protected domestic workers in the informal sector of the country.
She appealed for the creation of boundaries for domestic workers such as maidservants who get engaged to do house chores to have limitations whilst their services are duly compensated according to the laws of the country as explained.
Source: GNA