Domestic Violence & Sexual Harassment

Domestic Violence Teaching Series

Sexual Harassment Myths

Myth 1: Some people ask to be sexually harassed. They do this with how they dress, or how they act. They send “signals”
Reality: Being subjected to sexual harassment is a painful difficult and frequently traumatic experience. People who make comments such as “she wore provocative clothes” and “he enjoyed it” are neither acceptable nor accurate. They are justifications.

Myth 2: If a person really wanted to discourage, or stop sexual harassment, they could.
Reality: Often, the harasser is in a position to punish the recipient by withholding chop money, kicking them out of the house or even just sheer physical size.

Myth 3: Most charges of sexual harassment are false.
Reality: People have nothing to gain from making false accusations and filing false charges. it is very difficult to file sexual harassment charges. The process and system can be very difficult and emotional to the victim.

Myth 4: If you ignore sexually harassing behaviour, it will eventually stop
Reality: In a recent survey, only 29% of the people surveyed who said they tried to ignore the behaviour said that it “made things better”. Over 61% of the people surveyed said that telling the harasser to stop was the most effective method.

Myth 5: Only women are sexually harassed, this does not happen to men; and all sexual harassment perpetrators are male.
Reality: While a majority of victims of sexual harassment continue to be women and almost all convicted harassers continue to be men, there are instances where men are harassed by women, other men increasing numbers of women are being sexually harassed by other women.

Myth 6: The seriousness of sexual harassment is exaggerated, most “harassment’ is really minor, and involves harmless flirtation.
Reality: Sexual harassment can be devastating. Studies indicate that most harassment has nothing to do with “flirtation”. In reality it is offensive, often frightening and insulting to the victims. Research shows that often times victims’ have to remove themselves from the location of the harassment or avoid the harasser to escape abuse. Moreover many people experience serious psychological and health related problems

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Sexual Harassment in the Domestic Setting

Sexual Harassment

The Domestic Violence Act defines sexual harassment as sexual contact without the consent of the person with whom the contact is made, repeatedly making unwanted sexual advances, repeatedly following, pursuing, or accosting a person or making persistent, unwelcome communication with a person.

The following elements must be present for an act or acts to constitute sexual harassment

• The act should be of a sexual nature
• The victim should not consent to the act/acts
• The act should be persistent or continuous. It has to be a pattern of behaviour over a period of time. However a single incident can be serious enough to be considered harassments as well.

The victim and the harasser DO NOT have to engage in sexual acts, or have sexual intercourse for the harassment to be considered sexual in nature. The 1992 Constitution provides that “a person shall not be discriminated against on the grounds of gender… this can also mean that no person has the right to bother another person simply because the person is a man or a woman.

Sexual harassment is often done by men against women but it can also happen between people of the same sex- mean against men or women against women.

The Domestic Violence Act mentions sexual harassment because it can occur within the domestic setting such as between a master and house girl, madam and houseboy, between tenants, landlord and tenant, between ex-lovers and many more.

Sexual Harassment includes the following:

• Watching someone or standing around the place where the person works, studies or lives
• Making or asking someone to make unwanted telephone calls to the other person
• Sending letters, emails, text messages, parcels to the other person at the school, workplace or residence
• Doing any other thing of a sexual nature to bother the other person

Example 1
I live with my Aunt and Uncle. They have a co-tenant who lives in the boys’ quarters. Anytime I am outside washing clothes or dishes, he intentionally passes by so that his body will brush mine and he makes comments about the body. I don’t know what to do about it

Example 2
I live in a boarding school. Our house master is always walking by our dormitory before light off. It makes all the girls feel uncomfortable because we are trying to change for bed. If we take action we think that he will say that he is just making sure that we follow the rules and he may even punish us. We think that it should be a women who checks on us, and not a male teacher

Example 3
My stepfather has not lived with us for many years. Our families no longer speak. Recently he has started sending me emails and text messages of a sexual nature. I don’t respond to them but I don’t like
the fact that he is contacting me. I don’t know how to make him stop

Example 4
My landlord of the house that I rent a room hangs pictures of naked women on his veranda. He makes loud comments about the women’s bodies and often compares them to me. It is humiliating.

Example 5
I live on a farm. The farm manager is always watching my every move. He forces me to perform sexual acts against my will. I am afraid that if I refuse, I will lose my job. I am also worried that Madam will find out and punish me.

Example 6
My master is always watching me. Sometimes he even hangs around when I am trying to take my bath. I didn’t realize that was a form of sexual harassment

Contact

WiLDAF Ghana
Accra Phone: 233 302 768349
Volta Region Office: 233 3620 26076
Western Region Office: 233 3120 21552
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Other Legal Organization Service Providers:
FIDA Ghana (International Federation for Women Lawyers)233 302 229283

Women's Help Organizations
Ark Foundation 233 302 511610
Ark Foundation Crisis Response Line 233 243 777773
WISE (Women's Initiative for Self Empowerment) 233 302 781003
DOVVSU (Domestic Violence Support Unit) 233 302 687744, 233 302 662438

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