A hope for Change
THE Sexual Harassment (Protection and Prevention) Act, 2021 takes effect today, July 3, and is legislation which addresses concerns about sexual harassment that is employment-related, occurring in institutions, or arising in the landlord/tenant relationship.
Much has been said about the Act and how it will affect relationships in the workplace and outside, especially in a society where acts perceived as predatory in other jurisdictions are seen as cultural, okay, understandable, and not a big deal in Jamaica.
Gender Minister Olivia Grange says there was a push to sensitise employees, employers, tenants, landlords, and others ahead of the implementation of the law, stating that at the same time, “we have been working to put the mechanisms in place to investigate and adjudicate complaints of sexual harassment”.
This has included the recruitment and hiring of investigators and the appointment of the panel to hear each case, sensitisation sessions with companies across Jamaica, a help line for women and men, and the Bureau of Gender Affairs holding sexual harassment sensitisation sessions with the public.
“I use this opportunity to remind every employer and person in charge of an institution of their responsibility to ensure that the policy statement required under the Sexual Harassment Act is prepared and brought to the attention of each worker, client, student, resident, ward, inmate, patient or member, as the case may require, within 12 months of the commencement date,” Grange told the House of Representatives on June 13.
While groups, agencies, and others who hear complaints are hoping that the Act will both eradicate the problem and break the silence of those who have suffered and are suffering, this week we share some of the stories from both women and men who are now breathing a sigh of relief for the Act, after going through their own episodes of harassment.
Jhanette, 43, civil servant:
I am so grateful that at least, even though I wasn’t protected, I hope other women will be. I remember going through hell 12 years ago and I had to resign. I was involved with one person at work before, and somehow the rumour started that I had been seen with several men during a staff party. That rumour followed me for years, and it was what my boss would use to vilify me when I reported him to HR for harassing me. He would make comments, touch me inappropriately and call me at weird hours; and when I said I would tell someone he reminded me that I was the “office mattress”. When I couldn’t take anymore and went to HR and he was called in, it was his word against mine — he was a man of integrity, and I was a nobody. I had to leave because it would never end, and they would never believe me. I didn’t get justice, but I know other women will.
Kemisha, 30, attorney:
I was doing an internship for my first degree and was placed at this company which, ironically, is always in the media for being a good corporate citizen. Anyway, the men there had a game (I was told later) in which they would see which one would be the first to succeed in getting with the new girl. It didn’t matter to them that I was just 19 years old, and a student. These big men, several of them married, would make me so uncomfortable everyday — touching, rubbing on, making comments, inviting me on dates, and ‘complimenting’ my breasts and butt. It got so bad that my father, who dropped me off each morning, had to go to HR on my behalf to make the report. Nothing came of it though, except that they all just stopped and ignored me for the rest of my internship. I also got a poor appraisal and had to explain to my lecturers why this happened. It’s part of the reason I switched to law, because I wanted to represent women in similar situations.
O’Keefe, 24, IT technician:
I think women are sometimes worse than men in these matters because when you say no you’re automatically labelled as gay. In my case, the pressure came from my ex-boss — she was over 50 and just unyielding with the comments and the touching. And when she did it, everybody would laugh and ask if I didn’t want her to “bruk me in”. It was so uncomfortable, and just the way the other managers behaved, I knew going to anyone for help would be pointless. I’ve never searched for jobs or prayed so hard in my life for another opportunity, but that didn’t come until I endured a year and a half in that hell.
Maxine, 48, manager:
You always hear that women who reach the top had to sleep their way up, and in my case I didn’t want that to be my story. But, try as I might, at every rung of the ladder there was always that one man who thought he had to try a thing. I went through everything other women have related through the years, including an attempted rape in my hotel room during a business trip. And each time it was either “youthful exuberance”, the men not being able to “help themselves”, or me being “too suggestive”. For a long time I thought all of it was a normal part of the female existence, until we got a no-nonsense CEO from Europe and it all stopped. After that, gender sensitivity became big in my company before it became so popular elsewhere, and nowadays the men who couldn’t help themselves in the past are now in meetings talking about women’s rights. It’s laughable, but at least the young women won’t have to go through what I did.
