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Report: Mapping Legal Protections Against Workplace Sexual Harassment in Africa
The Vance Center, in partnership with the Africa End Sexual Harassment Initiative (AESHI), the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), and with legal support from A&O Shearman and multiple national law firms in the relevant countries, analyzed existing legislative protections addressing sexual harassment in 22 selected jurisdictions across Africa.
This legal review, drawing on the combined legal expertise, grassroots connections, and global network of the three organizations, underscores the direct correlation between the absence of legislation protecting women from sexual harassment and persistent gender inequality and discrimination in the labor market.
The project seeks to provide a foundational framework that will foster a culture of equal opportunity, free from sexual harassment, for all people in the working world. It offers both a comprehensive regional view and country-specific analysis of laws and policies relating to workplace sexual harassment, compiling findings from research memoranda on laws relating to sexual harassment (including workplace sexual harassment); legal requirements for institutions to implement sexual harassment policies; reporting and investigation mechanisms; arbitration and litigation of sexual harassment cases; and penalties and legal ramifications for perpetrators of sexual harassment.
Each country chapter includes a “speed read” summarizing the findings for that country, and noting the status of key international conventions. These assessments offer a starting point for advocates, policymakers, legal professionals, and others to assess where each jurisdiction stands, take note of what instruments other neighboring countries have adopted, and identify next steps and opportunities for action.
The study concludes with recommendations for comprehensive sexual harassment legislative frameworks, including internal policies to investigate and address claims of sexual harassment, safer reporting mechanisms, ending the use of practices like non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and defamation lawsuits to intimidate or silence victims, preventing retaliation and ensuring equal protection under the law for all workers; and incorporating additional considerations for vulnerable groups of workers often excluded under employment laws, such as domestic workers and other workers in the informal sector.
Read the full report