Sexual Harassment
Sexual Harassment
The Labour Law prohibits sexual harassment of women in the workplace. The law prohibits any kind of physical, psychological, or sexual gestures or actions directed at a person or an assault on their property on the grounds of their sex. Such action or gesture deprives them of their rights and negatively affects them.
If a worker resigns after being the victim of violence and sexual harassment at work, the dismissal is considered unfair dismissal. A worker must not be dismissed for reporting or having testified of violence.
Any employer or any other person guilty of exercising sexual harassment by way of orders, intimidation, and terrorizing a person he/she leads is liable to imprisonment of two years to five years and a fine between one hundred thousand Rwandan francs and two hundred thousand Rwandan francs.
Law Nº68/2018 of 30/08/2018 has detailed provisions on sexual harassment and punishments. The legislation defines sexual harassment as “repeated remarks or behaviour of sexual overtones towards a person that either undermine, violate his/her dignity because of their degrading or humiliating character which create against him/her an intimidating, hostile or unpleasant situation". If sexual harassment is done in an employment relationship (where an employer or any other person who uses his/her responsibility to practice acts of sexual harassment on a subordinate through instructions, threats or intimidation with intention to achieve sexual pleasure), the perpetrator is liable to imprisonment for a term ranging between one to two years and a fine ranging between two hundred thousand Rwandan francs (FRW 200.000) to three hundred thousand Rwandan francs (FRW 300.000).
Sexual harassment against the employee(s) is prohibited, its reporting or testifying is not a valid ground for dismissal, and if an employee is dismissed due to being the victim of sexual harassment, such dismissal will not be valid. Sexual harassment from an employer towards a subordinate through orders, threats, terror, etc., for having sexual pleasure will be punished with incarceration of six to twenty-four months, and a fine of 100 000 to 200 000 Rwandan francs.
Source: §8 of the Law regulating Labour in Rwanda, 2018 (No. 66/2018); §24 of the N°59/2008 of 10/09/2008 Law on prevention and punishment of gender-based violence; §149 of the Law Nº68/2018 of 30/08/2018 on offences and penalties; §203 of the Organic Law N° 01/2012/OL Of 02/05/2012 Instituting the Penal Code