Over the last years, immense focus and energy toward ending gender-based violence in our country have been directed to communities with harmful and retrogressive sociocultural norms.
But not enough has been done to address GBV in public and private workplaces.
The silence of workers, employees and customers in public and private institutions does not mean GBV is not taking place in the workplaces.
In fact, we should be more worried that this empowered proportion of the population cannot identify and report the various forms of GBV.
Like in the communities, there exists huge power imbalance that sets the stage for GBV to thrive in workplaces. Its worse because the employees are dependent on their jobs to put food on the table and are afraid to lose their jobs.
They are thus forced to brave physical, sexual, economical and emotional violence. There is a lot of harassment, sex for favours, stalking, overworking and underpaying, sexual coercion, and physical torture in many workplaces.
Many employers, and employees, in private and public workplaces are taking advantage of the desperate population. For instance, a story is told in Kilifi county of an adolescent girl who was raped and when she went to report to a police station, a police officer on duty raped her.
This shows the level of impunity in the workplace that needs to be looked at keenly and with a lot of focus. More importantly, there is a need to highlight boldly that the workplaces are GBV-free and specify the reporting channel if it happens.
Such intervention is similar to the anti-corruption signage at many government offices that warns you are entering a 'corruption-free zone'.
Workplace incivility is a common form of GBV that pretty much goes unnoticed and inflicts emotional violence. Most often it is an interplay between the bosses and their juniors. Most institutions lack an effective code of conduct that draws boundaries, thus, making it hard to address GBV.
Many workplaces hate being caught up in scandals, thus, they avoid at all costs anything that could tie them to negligence. For instance, if GBV cases occur, most would rather give the survivor and or the perpetrator transfer.
This encourages a repeat of the same behaviour. Perpetrators need to face disciplinary measures as dictated by the institution's code of conduct.
In as much as an institution would like to protect its own image and ‘staff’, it should take into account that all people matter and an institution is nothing if its people's dignity is not respected and upheld.
There is a need to put up a spirited fight against GBV in workplaces for optimal work delivery and to preserve the health of workers and customers.
The writers comment on topical issues
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