Sexual Harassment

7 Pages 1771 Words

How Long will Sexual Harassment Remain a Hush-hush Affair?

By Selamawit Seyoum

Women at all levels of education and occupation endure humiliation and ordeal in the hands of men at work places.
Many women live in a complete riddle why they are sexually harassed by their male counterparts even today, at the turn
of the new millennium when enhanced efforts are being exerted to eliminate all forms of violence against women. In fact
despite the enormity of the problem, sexual harassment has never been given due attention in this country.

Some women approached by the Herald cited cases that harassment begins right from the day of interview for a job.
That is the day when, they said, employers, especially in the private organizations, "remind" women that meeting their
sexual advances is part of the job description.

"When you go into the boss's offices for an interview, you can't escape those lusty eyes of his that run from the tip of
your hair down to your toe assessing your sexual worthiness. That leaves you in a very uncomfortable situation. Your
qualification for the job is not enough, the boss needs more. He makes it clear in his own way that you will have to
accept his invitation for a date if your really want the job," Simret Tesfaye said while explaining her personal experience
with a couple of employers. There are women workers who live in traumata due to sexual abuses. They are confronted
with hard choices either to succumb to the sexual advances or give up their jobs.

Mekdes Ye*censored*ila, in her twenties, who had been working in a private company explained that the owner of the company
forwarded sexual demands following repeated invitations for lunch and dinner which she never accepted. She said, "I
did not quit my job the first time he asked me to go out with him. I told him right to his face that he was a married man
with a kid and should behave accordingly. However, that did not deter him...