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By Efua Nessa
ActionAid Ghana has welcomed President John Dramani Mahama’s call to criminalise the pervasive “sex-for-jobs” culture in Ghana, describing it as a significant and timely step toward advancing the principles of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 190 on violence and harassment in the world of work.
In a statement, the NGO emphasized that “sex-for-jobs” practices represent a serious violation of human rights, gender equality, dignity, and decent work principles. The organisation expressed deep concern that such exploitation disproportionately affects women and young job seekers, particularly those grappling with unemployment, poverty, social exclusion, and other economic vulnerabilities. Young women, in particular, remain highly vulnerable to these exploitative power dynamics.
Since 2019, ActionAid Ghana, alongside movements such as the Young Urban Women’s Movement, has documented the multiple forms of discrimination, harassment, and workplace vulnerability faced by women across sectors in Ghana.
The statement further praised the renewed commitment by President Mahama, policymakers, civil society organisations, and labour rights advocates to strengthen legal and institutional frameworks that hold employers and authority figures accountable for demanding sexual favours in exchange for employment.
ActionAid Ghana noted that the national momentum to criminalise “sex-for-jobs” practices aligns closely with its advocacy for the domestication and effective implementation of ILO Convention 190, which guarantees a world of work free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence. The NGO highlighted that the Convention’s broad definition of the “world of work” covers not only formal workplaces but also recruitment processes, training spaces, job-seeking environments, and other work-related interactions—key points where many victims experience coercion and abuse of power.
The organisation stressed that sexual exploitation in recruitment and employment undermines meritocracy, fairness, dignity, and equal opportunity, while entrenching structural gender inequalities and unsafe work environments. ActionAid Ghana described the current national conversation as a critical opportunity for Ghana to strengthen labour protection systems and fully align national laws with international labour standards.
ActionAid Ghana recommends immediate measures including:
Clear, comprehensive, and enforceable legislation criminalising sexual exploitation in recruitment and employment.
Safe, confidential, accessible, and survivor-centred reporting and redress mechanisms.
Strong institutional accountability and zero-tolerance enforcement in both public and private sectors.
Increased public awareness, advocacy, and preventive education on workplace harassment, abuse of power, and gender-based violence.
Enhanced alignment of Ghana’s labour, gender, and workplace protection frameworks with ILO Convention 190.
The statement concluded: “Ending workplace sexual exploitation is both a gender justice and economic justice imperative. Women and young people must have equal access to employment and career advancement based on competence and merit—free from coercion, intimidation, discrimination, and abuse of power.”