Human Resource Policies Protection and Sexual Harassment at the Workplace in Nigeria: An Appraisal

The employment arena is fraught with conducts or infractions that undermine the realization of organizational goals and threaten industrial harmony. It is against this background that human resource policies are developed to checkmate unwholesome tendencies at the workplace. The study appraises human resource (HR) policies and their effectiveness in addressing sexual harassment at the workplace in Nigeria. Despite existing legal frameworks like the Public Service Rules, international conventions and conditions of service of various places of work, sexual harassment remains prevalent and underreported. This study adopted descriptive research. The feminist theory was used as its theoretical guide. The findings of the study revealed that although most organizations have adopted policy frameworks that prohibit sexual harassment, gaps persist in enforcement, sensitization of the workforce and reporting mechanisms. It was further revealed that the prevalence of sexual harassment at the workplace is high but with outrageously low reporting. The study recommends that the National Assembly should promulgate a comprehensive federal legislation to address the menace of sexual harassment at all levels of government in both the public and private sectors, that an effective whistle blowing mechanism should be instituted in all public institutions and that institution specific HR policies should be instituted in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s).