MBABANE:Colani Hlatjwako, the One Billion Rising Campaign Africa Coordinator said the job losses that comes with the COVID-19 crisis will escalate the vulnerability of women to sexual abuse.
Speaking to this Swaziland News on Tuesday, the Coordinator said most women will soon be desperate for jobs while some of those on employment are likely to be forced to sustain same through sleeping with their superiors, she strongly warned against women abuse in the workplace.
She said the scarcity of jobs in the midst of the current social and economic challenges automatically creates vulnerability for women to be sexually abused by those in positions of significant trust with authority to decide their employment future.
“The COVID-19 crisis has escalated the vulnerability of women to sexual abuse in the workplace because most of them are worried about the sustainability of their jobs while some are desperately looking for employment” she said.
The Coordinator said the current COVID-19 situation suggests that most companies might soon implement retrenchments and jobs will remain scarce thus compromising the financial independence among women.
“It is in the midst of such unfortunate situations where corrupt men take advantage of women and sexually abuse them in exchange for jobs or sustaining their employment. This situation automatically compromises financial independence among women who were previously working thus making them vulnerable to sexual abuse. We therefore warn against such abuse in the workplace and advise those who might be victims to report to the relevant institutions” said the One Billion Rising Africa Coordinator.
One Billion Rising logo