Kenya’s workplace sexual-harassment laws have existed for years, but many women have continued going to work without believing the law would protect them.
Development Diaries reports that Kenyan courts have delivered landmark rulings strengthening protections against workplace sexual harassment by affirming that employers can be held responsible for failing to prevent or address abuse in the workplace.
The rulings have been welcomed as an important step because Kenya’s Employment Act already requires employers to adopt sexual-harassment policies; still, many workers have continued to face abuse without reporting it, often fearing retaliation, dismissal or disbelief.
For years, many women working as domestic workers, farm labourers, hotel cleaners and casual employees have relied more on silence than the law because reporting harassment often meant risking the very jobs that fed their families.
The courts have strengthened workers’ legal protection, but a judgment alone will not protect the women working in private homes, on farms or in hotels if employers continue to ignore the law.
That is where Kenya’s labour-protection system has struggled because having a law is not the same as making it work, as many informal-sector employers operate without written contracts, complaint procedures or internal disciplinary systems, leaving workers with few realistic options when harassment occurs.
The Ministry of Labour is responsible for ensuring employers comply with workplace protections, while the Employment and Labour Relations Court has now clarified how those protections should be enforced.
Kenya’s constitution guarantees dignity, equality and fair labour practices, while the country’s obligations under the Maputo Protocol require women to be protected from violence and discrimination, including in the workplace.
The workers who stand to benefit most from these rulings are domestic workers employed inside private homes, women working on farms and young employees in hotels and restaurants who often work without formal contracts, union representation or accessible reporting channels.
Citizens, labour unions and women’s organisations should explain the new rulings in simple language, support survivors seeking justice and monitor whether employers introduce and implement workplace sexual-harassment policies.
The Ministry of Labour should issue clear implementation guidelines, inspect compliance across formal and informal workplaces, establish reporting channels that workers can safely access, and ensure employers who ignore their legal responsibilities face meaningful sanctions.
