Government has been called upon by Uganda Human Rights Defenders Association to find ways of protecting women in Uganda against “sexually hungry” men at places of work.
The Executive Director HURIDA, Gideon Tugume on Friday condemned the increasing rate of women sexual harassment in the country with many more still suffering from humiliation and self dejection.
Tugume said a research was carried out between March 15 and May 11, 2013 in 1500 companies, 1000 secondary and primary schools, 10 Universities,200 health centers, 100 churches, 50 mosques and 50 financial institutions where 10,000 respondents were interviewed to find out the situation in which women are working and challenges they face at their place of work.
“It was discovered that 90 percent of women are sexually harassed at their places of work by their male seniors by raping them in their office or using their authority to force them into sexual intercourse in lodges, cars and after dump them without care,” said Tugume.
According to Tugume cases of female job seekers who are asked to offer sex to their male employers before offering them jobs is increasing but surprisingly they refuse to offer them jobs. And where the jobs has been offered, after one month they are dismissed after failing to keep every day sexual demand.
He added that 88 percent of female students who go to different companies for internship are sexually abused but they keep quite “because most of the assaults happened in the closed offices of the bosses who offer some money or favors after the act.
He added: “99 percent of house girls are sexually abused by men in their bedrooms when their wives are away for work or when they are sick after either delivery or both.”
Tugume, however, appealed to Women Non- Government Organizations both National and International to rise up “and condemn this increasing human rights abuse against women in Uganda.”
Police, like other government institutions have been urged to crack down on sexual harassment of women at workplaces
