THE CRIMINAL LAW OF LAGOS STATE 2011

It is, however, important to states that the Lagos State Government has classified Sexual Harassment as an offence within its jurisdiction. If you live and work in Lagos, note that sexual harassment is an offence.
Chapter 25, Section 262 of the Criminal Law of Lagos States 2011 states in subsection (1) that:
Any person who sexually harassed another is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years.
Subsection 2 of Section 262, defines Sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favours, and other visual, verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature which when submitted to or rejected-

1. Implicitly or explicitly affects a persons employment or unreasonably interferes with the persons work or educational performance;

2. Implicitly or explicitly suggests that submission to or rejection of the conduct will be a factor in academic or employment decisions; or

3. Creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive learning or working environment.
Section 264 of the law addresses the issue of consent when it states in subsection (1) that
For the purpose of this chapter, a person consents if he agrees by choice and has the freedom and capacity to make and communicate that choice

NATIONAL DIMENSION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AS AN OFFENCE UNDER THE NIGERIAN LAW

By implication, The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, in a recent review of its procedure, implicitly and explicitly states that the court can be approached on issue bothering on sexual harassment at workplace.
For instance, a look at order 14 of the Civil Procedure rules, 2017 provides that an action in which an employee claims sexual harassment at workplace should spell out whether the act is any of the following
1. Physical conduct of a sexual nature
2. A verbal form of sexual harassment
3. A non-verbal form of sexual harassment
4. Quid pro quo harassment where an owner, employer, superior, member of management or co-employee undertakes or attempts to influence or influences the process of employment, training, discipline, dismissal, salary increments, or other benefits of an employee or job applicant in exchange for a sexual favour.
Because workplace sexual harassment is a global menace and a scourge various countries have passed laws and legislation to either criminalized it or tackle it as an unacceptable social nuisance.

United States of American
As far back as in 1964, Title V11 of the United States Civil Rights Act expressly condemns discrimination and sexual harassment likewise is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) and the Equality Act 2010 directed against the act of unwelcome sexual advances at a workplace.

Germany
The German General Equal Treatment Act, stresses that a repeated offender of sexual harassment should be terminated from employment having carried out a proper investigation.

Latin America Countries
In Brazil, Mexico and other Latin American countries sexual harassment is viewed seriously. For example, a law was enacted in Mexico 2012 that places fines and levies ranging from $ 1000 to $ 20,000 on employers who tolerate the act of sexual harassment in their organizations.

AFRICAN COUNTRIES
Excepts for few countries in Africa where sexual harassment is treated as a criminal act most of the countries still dont handle it with the seriousness that it deserves. The African perception of the role of women in general and to a large extent our cultural and religious leaning are major obstacles working against the criminalization of sexual harassment at an offence at the workplace.

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EFFECTS OF WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT

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Eric (Not real name) had recently gotten a dream job after five years of unemployment, he painted a beautiful picture of the organization and the supportive role of his female head of department who gave all the necessary support and ensured that the job was truly a dream come true.
Eric described his boss as the best boss ever, very supportive and encouraging yet strict and committed to the organization. She never entertains shoddiness nor takes anything below 100% as a good job. Eric being a relatively young man gave his all and got a recommendation for a pay rise after five months on the job.
According to Eric, my boss is someone that operates an open door policy and gives you the opportunity to approach her on anything including personal issues that you needed advice on. She is just naturally a nice person.
Recently, Eric became uncomfortable with his boss and sort for an independent advise from me, he said, some few months back, my boss called me towards the close of work to go and buy an ointment from a nearby drug store. Quoting Eric, When I returned with the ointment my boss rested her head on the desk and asked me to help massage her back.
Cutting a long matter short, this has become a regular occurrence that I am not comfortable with.
When asked, if he had personally complained to her, he said, I fear to lose my job and the indignity of being out there on the street without a job and the inability to meet up with other personal and family responsibilities made it difficult for me.

WAS THE BORDERLINE CROSSED?

Obviously, Eric does not work in a gymnasium or a spa, he was employed as an Audit Assistant, hence, the demand by his boss for him to massage her back partially dressed is an act of workplace sexual harassment, therefore, the borderline has been crossed.

BUT THEY ARE BOTH ADULTS, SO WHAT ABOUT IT?
Both are adults, it is, however, obvious that Erics boss had taken advantage of her position to sexually harassed Eric to submission.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT, A GLOBAL MENACE

The above scenario is what a lot of people are living with at workplace, unconscious of the negative impact of such act on productivity and by extension the nations Gross Domestic Product, human dignity, workers psychological well being and their right to demand remedy and protection.
The primary objective of this article is to x-ray workplace sexual harassment, look at the position of the Nigerian Labour Act and come up with some solutions to this ubiquitous problem that is grossly unreported and culturally cover-up in most workplaces.

WHAT IS WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT?

To avoid ambiguity, I will adopt a number of definitions and highlights key points to bring home a commonly understood definition of sexual harassment.
Sexual harassment means the unwanted conduct of a sexual nature or the conduct based on sex affecting the dignity of man and woman at work. This can include unwelcome physical, verbal and nonverbal conduct. Thus, a range of behaviour may be considered to constitute sexual harassment. It is unacceptable if such conduct is unwanted, unreasonable and offensive to the recipient; if a persons rejection of, or submission to, such conduct on the part of the employers or workers ( including superiors or colleagues) is used explicitly or implicitly as a basis for a decision which affects that persons access to vocational training or employment, continued employment, promotion, salary or any other employment decisions, and /or such conduct creates an intimidating, hostile or humiliating working environment. European Commission Committee on the Protection of the dignity of women and men at workplace
According to Article 26, of the Italian Code of Equal Opportunities, sexual harassment is defined as Unwanted conduct of a sexual nature expressed in any way which violates, or is intended to violate the dignity of an employee or which creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive working environment.

CONTINUE TO: –
WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE FACE OF THE NIGERIAN LAW

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For some reasons the victims of workplace sexual harassment are mostly subordinate staff, a larger percentage of reported cases of sexual harassments are committed by bosses against those under them on whom they have some level of control. The question here is how I can stop your randy boss from sexually harassing you.

• Be sensitive and know when your bosses actions, words and behaviour are becoming sexual in nature. Most of the victims of sexual harassment would tell you that their harassers usually adopt two methods, namely, benevolent act of goodwill and through intimidation in which the victim is made to believe that he or she owns his or her employment to the boss. Study your boss well and decide right from the onset to stop advances that are unhealthy, do not tolerate such action or statement, raise your objection in a polite manner almost immediately that it is noticed.

• Intelligent Exposure. It has been noticed that sexual harassers would like to keep things under wrap when they realized that other colleagues or staff in the organizations are aware they tend to desist. When your boss is making unwelcome passes at you, bring it to the knowledge of your colleagues and ensure that you always hang around a trusted colleague in the office. Avoid being alone with your boss.

• Intentional and planned confrontation. Sometimes it is important to confront your harasser and let him or her know that you are not comfortable with the attention that is giving to you and that such behaviour is affecting your job and ability to remain focused.

• Turn your computer monitor outward if unwelcome messages are sent via email or social media platform. You can deliberately leave your system on for others to see. The thought that other people would read your message will scare your randy boss.

• If all this fails, lodge a formal complaint with HR and follow up on this by escalating the issue to a higher authority.

• However, if it is the company CEO that is making the overture at you, you can approach right advocacy group and possible resign from the job. But before doing that, lodge formal complaint and if you can file a lawsuit, you will be helping other people and letting your boss know that it is not right.

CONCLUSION

The implications of workplace sexual harassment are enormous, its effects the dignity of the workers, it negatively impacts productivity and promotes vices such as the objectification of the opposite sex for personal and selfish pleasure. It also promotes and the act of retaliation in which the victims are denied their entitlements and other benefits.
Beyond the problems, efforts have been made to define sexual harassment and place it within the context of national laws and at the sometimes proffer solutions on how it can be prevented by the organization as well as the workers.
I want to believe that this will help stimulates further discussions and sensitize both the employer and employees to the implications for sexual harassment at workplace.
Thank you for being part of this.

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It is important to note that the responsibility for preventing sexual harassment in workplace rest majorly with the employer whose duties is to provide a work environment devoid of discrimination and all form of unhealthy practices including sexual harassment.
It is an acceptable statement that prevention is better and less expensive than cure; hence, the main plan of the organization is to put in place a preventive mechanism that dissuades sexual harassment and ensure that when noticed or reported it is handled with all seriousness.

Measures to be taken at preventing sexual harassment by the organization:

• Written and properly communicated policy statement against sexual harassment. The companys handbook should address a section to sexual harassment by defining what it is and the fact that it will not be tolerated when noticed or reported and found to be truthful.

• Training and workshop on the effects of sexual harassment should form part of employee induction program and continuous education. It is important for the workers to know that sexual harassment is an offence punishable by the law of the land.

• Strategic Preventive plan must be in place to nip act of sexual harassment in the bud before it escalates to sexual crime and molestation.

• Complaints management. Members of the organization should be encouraged in making complaints either anonymously or in person and when such is done it should be investigated and appropriate sanction meted out to the culprit and also communicated to the complainant.

• Protection of sexual harassment victims from an act of retaliation and official victimization. Victims must not be made to suffer retaliation in terms of denial of promotion, salary increase or other benefits especially if the harasser is in a position to approve such benefits for the victim.

• The institution of Love Contracts clause. It has been championed in some quarters that the organization should be flexible enough to permit open relationship between working adults as a basis for preventing sexual harassment and at the sometime protect the organization from the consequences of action of two consenting adult who must have signed a consensual agreement forms stating that they both voluntarily enter into such relationship and that it was not forceful and an act of harassment.

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LEGITIMATE WAYS OF STOPPING YOUR RANDY BOSS FROM SEXUALLY HARASSING YOU

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• It breeds mediocrity and compromise. Because of the need to cover up the act of sexual harassment, the harasser would naturally result in favoring each other and compromising on the standard at the expense of the organization.

• Sexual harassment violates the dignity of the workers and reduces his or her self-confidence. A victim of an unwelcome sexual act in most cases sees themselves as the victim of an uncontrolled action which is just beyond them.

• Loss of man-hours due to fatigue and emotional disconnects. By engaging in sexual adventure when you should be working could lead to the inability to concentrate and engage in the work as against pleasing someone.

• Litigation and exposure to lawsuits. Employment law places the duties of workers protection at the workplace on the employer therefore when workers allege sexual harassment at workplace their employer could be held liable for failure to protect the victim from sexual harassment.

• Staff turnover. The rate at which workers resigned from the job might be high and this will affect the stability of the organization particularly when your good hands leaves due to sexual harassment.

• Negative Publicity and bad Image for the organization. Imagine an organization being painted in the social media and the print media as an intolerable place to work due to constant sexual harassment. This can result when management is lackadaisical in handling sexually related offenses.

• Increased in medical related expense could also result from sexual harassment and the huge burden of such payment will fall on the employer.
Organizational leaders are expected to weigh the effects of workplace sexual harassments on the overall well-being of the organization and take appropriate action to reduce such acts to its bareness minimum.

Continued to:-
HOW ORGANIZATIONS CAN CONTROL AND MANAGE SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN WORKPLACE

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