A section of netizens have asked Kenyans to shun sexual harassment at workplaces including newsrooms.
Their reactions were ignited by a tweet by Fredrick Nyambare who shared his experience after a ride in a taxi operated by a woman in Nairobi recently.
Nyambare wrote: “I ordered a Uber (taxi) yesterday and the lady driver accepted the request. When I got into her car, the first thing I noticed was ‘No Sexual Harassment’ on all windows.”
“I asked her why and the story she told me! Men, we need to do better!”
The tweet was retweeted and liked by several netizens.
In his next tweet, Nyambare claimed that he learnt from the driver that she does not work in the night and many of her colleagues had quit the job due to sexual harassment.
“Sexual harassment is denying men women opportunities to make money in this country. It is making the working environment untenable for many women. Look at yourself and do better,” Nyambare who appeared to strictly target men in his messaging said.
There were mixed reactions to the tweets, although a majority was in agreement that sexual harassment is rife and is being perpetuated at work places.
One who tweets as @males said that Uber needs to improve its app such that “lady drivers can be matched with lady passengers as a priority before being matched with a gentleman, definitely depending with the closest request.”
Winny Chepkurui said that Kenya needs safe spaces for everyone to thrive and love what they do.
“This is so sad to her because women drivers are the most reliable on that platform,” said @Wamathai.
But Yosef Torts who tweets as @Torts seemed not to agree with the unidentified taxi drivers’ strategy of keeping possible sexual molesters at bay.
“If she has such mentality, I will cancel the request. Not all (men) have such intentions. She should not offend others by trying to protect herself,” Torts said.
To Thugu Clinton, sexual harassment was not confined to work places and secular environment but the church too.
“Unasema Uber ama pia kanisa zingine pastors/prophets wanakula kondoo?” he posed.
There was opinion that perhaps women’s dress code can trigger inappropriate sexual advances.
One who tweets as @Wayne said that perhaps women can deter such men if they dress in hijab/buibui. Such kind of dressing covers most part of the body, revealing only the face and hands.
It should be noted that sexual harassment is not confined to women as victims. Men too become victims but many hardly talk, and some would rather yield than embarrassing the perpetrators.
It can occur by or against an individual of any sex, gender, identity, sexual orientation, among others.
The reactions came in the wake of a report by the World Association of News Publishers (Wan-Ifra) Women in News’ which revealed that Kenyan media houses lead in cases of sexual harassment.
The research was carried out between July and November, 2020 and covered eight African countries and with 584 respondents.
It shows that 56 per cent of women suffered both verbal and physical sexual harassment.
It also revealed that women stay silent because of fear of retaliation and lack of faith that their organizations will do anything about their reports.
24 per cent of men faced verbal sexual harassment and physical form 15 percent, according to the report whose findings were published recently.
Women were most subjected to verbal sexual harassment with Kenya leading with 79 per cent, followed by Zambia (66 per cent) and Uganda (63.1 per cent).
In Botswana, more women experienced physical sexual harassment (48 per cent) than those who reported having been sexually harassed physically (40 per cent).
Overall, the executives are the main perpetrators (41 per cent) of the sexual harassment, followed by colleagues (38 per cent) and news sources (17 per cent). The managers are neither immune to the harassment.
“It is far better to be proactive and prepared than pushed into a crisis management position when a case emerges,” Women in News Executive Director Melanie Walker said.
The research released echoed the findings of the November 2020 Media Council of Kenya (MCK) report that pushed for policy implementation to provide a safer working environment.
“73 per cent of female journalists are highly likely to experience sexual harassment during assignments, a new study from MCK has found,” reported Citizen Digital on November 3rd, 2020.
The study was conducted in partnership with Article 19 Eastern Africa and launched in commemoration of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI).
It is required that media organizations develop policies to curb sexual harassment and enlighten employees on the same.
But Ken Bosire (a consultant editor and media trainer) said media houses fear repercussions to their image and negate how to confront the issue of sexual harassment.
According to the Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) women journalists do not only face sexual harassment in the field but also within the newsrooms they work in.
“AMWIK will be reviewing policies on sexual harassment in association with the European Union and the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET),” Marceline Nyambala, the Executive Director at AMWIK was quoted by Citizen Digital as saying.
