- They want the DCI to initiate thorough investigations to establish the extent of the sexual harassment in the institutions, businesses and individuals implicated in the documentary.
Image: BBC
The Coalition of Organisations working on sexual violence in Kenya has demanded that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) identify, charge and prosecute men incriminated of sexual assault in the BBC documentary.
They want the DCI to initiate thorough investigations to establish the extent of the sexual harassment in the institutions, businesses and individuals implicated in the documentary.
The investigative report titled Sex for Work: The True Cost of Our Tea, which aired on February 20, 2023, highlights the horrific working conditions and sexual exploitation faced by women and girls in the tea industry.
It also exposes the dark reality of what women and girls have to endure to get and keep their jobs in tea plantations.
The coalition noted that unfortunately, despite the tea industry being worth billions of dollars, the women who work in the fields are some of the most exploited, poor and vulnerable in the world.
"The industry's hidden cost is the exploitation of vulnerable women workers who are denied basic human rights, such as freedom from sexual abuse, right to health, fair wages and safe working conditions".
In a statement to the media houses, the coalition said it must be noted that these allegations are historical and have been documented for decades by civil society organisations including police reports of the sexual abuse of children in the farms that are not acted upon.
"This lack of action by implicated farms points to a culture of looking the other way in order to benefit from a workforce that is emotionally, mentally and physically broken rendering the women and girls incapable of fighting for their rights."
They added that sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace have far-reaching effects which range from mental and physical health problems including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), HIV/AIDS, Sexually transmitted diseases and other stress-related illnesses.
They may also experience a loss of self-esteem and confidence, which can negatively affect all areas of their lives.
The Coalition of the organization, therefore, demand that the institutions implicated in the documentary immediately and at their own cost provide the survivors and those at risk access to immediate independent medical, psychosocial and legal aid services.
They also want the institutions implicated to immediately provide compensation for all women and girls who have been violated in the tea plantations at the same time show cause why their licenses should not be altogether revoked and their businesses shut down for lack of compliance with local and international standards for safety and protection, especially for women in the workplace.
They added that they should also immediately put in place internal mechanisms to identify perpetrators and forward all names to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
"Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions should make public the findings of the Inspector General report and pursue to the full extent of the law as well as build systems for strong evidence collection for this and other similar cases as a way to protect Kenyan women," read the statement in parts.
The organizations also called on the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection to immediately put in place measures to implement ILO convention 190 and to enforce compliance in the world of work.
"Kenyans of goodwill, global citizens and trading partners of the implicated institutions immediately suspend patronage and business with the said institutions until all perpetrators are identified, charged and prosecuted and the said institutions publicly demonstrate real measures put in place to protect women at the workplace."
They also demanded that Witness Protection Agency puts in place measures to protect the whistleblowers in the documentary and others who may subsequently come forward to provide information about the sexual harassment exploitation and abuse in the tea factories and plantations.