Sheila Minkah-Premo, Convener of the Affirmative Action Law Coalition, has backed President John Dramani Mahama’s call for a specific law to punish employers who demand sex in exchange for jobs, promotions, or salary payments.
She said existing provisions on sexual harassment in the 1992 Constitution, the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), and the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121), did not adequately protect victims.
Mrs Minkah-Premo made the remarks in an exclusive interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Thursday, May 21, following President Mahama’s call for legislation to criminalise the practice during a town hall engagement at Adweso in Koforidua at the end of his two-day “Resetting Ghana Tour” of the Eastern Region.
“I would not mind joining any advocacy that criminalises sexual harassment,” she said, expressing support for the President’s proposal.
Mrs Minkah-Premo, who is also Managing Consultant of ALC Law Consult, described “Sex-for-Jobs” as demoralising, particularly for young women entering the job market, adding that it deprived qualified people of employment opportunities and denied the nation competent talent.
“It robs victims of the opportunity to gain employment and denies Ghana the right to have the best-qualified people,” she added.
Although the practice had serious consequences for victims and the country, she said existing laws failed to provide sufficient protection, especially for people who had not yet secured employment,
Referring to the 1992 Constitution, she noted that Article 17(2), which states that “A person shall not be discriminated against on grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, creed or social or economic status,” did not directly address “Sex-for-Jobs.”
She also cited Section 15(b) of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), which states that “A contract of employment may be terminated by the worker on grounds of ill-treatment or sexual harassment,” saying it only protected people already employed and not prospective employees.
Additionally, Mrs Minkah-Premo noted that the provisions on rape in Sections 97 and 98, and indecent assault in Section 103 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), did not sufficiently address the issue.
She noted that Section 28(1)(b) of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121), which criminalises gender-specific verbal attacks, stereotyping, hate speech and harsh rhetoric against employees, did not specifically address sexual harassment.
Similarly, the Lawyer said Section 28(1)(c), which criminalised discrimination, intimidation or disqualification of a candidate on grounds of gender, also failed to adequately cover the issue.
“If you look at all these laws, you can see that even though there are provisions that you can try to use, we do not really have specific laws as the one His Excellency the President is calling for,” she added.
Mrs Minka-Primo, however, urged Parliament to strengthen existing laws while considering the President’s proposal for a new legislation.
She also called on Christian and Muslim leaders, civil society organisations and the media to support efforts to combat the “Sex-for-Jobs” phenomenon.
Source: GNA
