ActionAid Ghana supports criminalisation of 'Sex-for-Jobs'

ActionAid Ghana has expressed support for ongoing national efforts to criminalise "sex-for-jobs" practices in the country. The organisation described the move as a major step towards promoting safe and dignified workplaces in line with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 190.

The organisation said the practice constituted a serious violation of human rights, gender equality, dignity, and decent work principles. It particularly affected women and young job seekers, who were vulnerable due to unemployment, poverty, and economic hardships. The statement was copied to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale on Tuesday. Since 2019, the organisation, working with its movement structures, including the Young Urban Women's Movement, had generated evidence documenting various forms of workplace discrimination, harassment and exploitation experienced by women across sectors in Ghana. It commended the renewed commitment by President John Dramani Mahama, policymakers, labour rights advocates, and civil society organisations advocating stronger legal and institutional measures to address the practice.

The organisation called for clear and enforceable legislation criminalising sexual exploitation in recruitment and employment processes. It also called for safe and survivor-centred reporting mechanisms, stronger institutional accountability, and zero-tolerance enforcement measures across public and private institutions. It called for intensified public awareness creation and preventive education on workplace harassment, abuse of power, and gender-based violence. The statement said: "At ActionAid Ghana, we maintain that ending workplace sexual exploitation is both a gender justice and economic justice imperative."