“Can we meet at the ... Hotel to further discuss your interest in employment with us?” This was part of a phone conversation between an employer and a friend of mine following her inquiry for a job at a local company. ALSO READ: 10 landmark laws enabling women’s rights protection The choice of location for the interview, instead of the offices of the company, has the typical sleazy implications. The same friend received a similar quid pro quo invitation from another potential employer a few weeks earlier but, with a more direct salacious tone: hotel location and the room number were provided. I have since learned from other women that this is not an uncommon practice across many occupational categories here; sadly, the victims resignedly believe there is no recourse. ALSO READ: Sextortion: A ‘hidden vice’ in universities My conclusion: there is widespread assumption of gendered entitlement to women’s bodies in our corporate business world. Here is a candid portrayal of a reality that most of us choose to look the other way. ALSO READ: Illusions of the Promised Land During a previous employment engagement, I had the HR portfolio for a few years and witnessed the manifestation of the portmanteau: sextortion (sexual favours in exchange for employment). The CEO, a septuagenarian who has a penchant for South African Nederburg wine and women of the younger age bracket, periodically announced new staff members who, to my dismay, were not subjected to the official hiring policies of the company. In every instance, these were single young women with varying degrees of sultriness who were informally acquainted with the CEO. Predictably, these employer-employee relationships were short lived due to alleged unsatisfactory performance – no pun intended – or the abrupt departure of the employee. Staff members watched in disgust but soon accepted this as the norm. ALSO READ: Rwanda's battle against sexual harassment The Labour Code of Rwanda holds employers legally accountable for sexual harassment in the workplace, but in practice this could be challenging for the complainant; this act requires fortitude: courage, financial resources to seek legal redress and no fear of public embarrassment. Sadly, it is driven by desperation for employment and the resignation that others have done the deed thus, granting a false legitimacy to an immoral and disgusting act. But, what about the victims of sextortion? Are they also silent victims and without legal protection? Sexual exploitation of our women is not confined to the pre- or post-employment relationships. There are instances they are commoditised as a stratagem of conducting business, often with visitors. In espionage terminology, this is referred to as the honey trap. I have witnessed such events with disbelief. ALSO READ: Sexual harassment is a human rights violation and everyone should fight it A male-only delegation arrives from a neighbouring country for business negotiations. The local host promises the visitors, among other things, an unforgettable experience matching the same fervour as the Visit Rwanda theme. Business is temporarily put aside. The visitors soon realize that it’s not about gorilla trekking because these animals are not usually found in a palatial residence or a high end hotel in western Rwanda at some lakeside retreat where copious amounts of alcohol are served by attractive young women. The visitors, in most cases, have no objections because “what happens in Vegas remains in Vegas”. During one such episode, sadly, one of the girls drowned in a swimming pool at the retreat after a night frolicking. Sexual exploitation of our vulnerable women is more prevalent than most of us realize and legal accountability is urgently needed. I have already seen disturbing signs of indifference to this emerging criminal issue. Many of the victims are unwilling to seek help or resist due to their disposition – financial, moral, and others. Others are deterred because they are up against individuals with power and influence. Thus, the perpetrators, or rather the predators, continue to exploit with bold impunity. ALSO READ: How will labour ministry eliminate sexual violence in the workplace? Anita Nyanjong, a Kenyan based lawyer with specialization in gender equality and sexual exploitation, defines commercial sexual exploitation as “using one’s (socio-) economic power to gain personal sexual gratification from another”. She asserts that commercial sexual exploitation preys on marginalized persons. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) confirmed “gender-based violence against women as being rooted in gender related factors, such as the ideology of men’s entitlement and privilege over women...”. Rwanda ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) by presidential decree number 431/16 of November 10, 1980. For the sake of our vulnerable women let us wash the dirty sheets and prosecute those who perpetrate their exploitation for personal sexual gratification.
