House parries call for rule to tame sexual harassment

On the last day the National Assembly met, MPs were painstakingly going through the Standing Orders for the next lot of legislators when Mbita MP Millie Odhiambo caused a stir, and some laughter, when she rose to contribute.

Presided over by Speaker Justin Muturi, the MPs had just concluded the part on the graduated punishment for disorderly conduct when Ms Odhiambo pointed out that they had missed or ignored something she considered crucial.

“I wish they had included the issue of sexual violence before the House, which is never treated very seriously. I have been sexually violated in this House and no action was taken,” she claimed.

CHAOS IN PARLIAMENT
Mr Muturi appeared to take the matter lightly, prompting Ms Odhiambo to say she had already written to him about the matter and that nothing has since been done in the way of follow-up.

She was referring to the events of December 18, 2014, when Opposition MPs caused chaos and physical confrontations in the chamber as they tried to stop the approval of the Security Laws Amendment Act.

There is no clarity on what happened that day, after the live broadcast was shut down, but Ms Odhiambo claims that she was partially undressed by two of her male colleagues.

“It is fortunate that it happened to me, who does not give a damn....It is embarrassing, and it should be provided in the Standing Orders that if you come here as a man and you pass legislation, you have not come to pass my underpants,” she said on June 15.

COUNSELLING
Mr Muturi said sexual harassment within the House was a matter for the Powers and Privileges Committee when it happens, but according to a global caucus of parliaments, much more needs to be done.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has asked the leadership of Parliament to come up with a policy to address harassment and discrimination in Parliament.

IPU places particular emphasis on Parliament.

Such a policy, it says, should guarantee a confidential counselling procedure for staff and MPs to give them guidance and support if and when sexual harassment happens.

MINORITY GENDER
The proposals are contained in the report IPU has submitted to the Kenyan Parliament and which was tabled in the Senate on June 15 by Nominated Senator Agnes Zani.

The report was prepared after an assessment conducted by IPU and Parliament last year.

A detailed analysis of gender breakdown among Parliamentary staff in senior positions in the Parliamentary administration shows that women are still a minority among Parliamentary staff even though more and more women have acquired degrees in the country in the last few years.

The percentage of women staff stands at 41.6 per cent and are particularly under represented in senior management at only 22.8 per cent.

PROGRESS MADE
The positions currently held by women in the Senate are the senior Deputy Clerk, director of Parliamentary Budget office, director of Legislative and Procedural Services and the Hansard editor.

In the National Assembly, only the Hansard editor and the director of Committee Services are women, besides the director of the Centre for Parliamentary Studies.

With respect to the positions of women in Parliament, the report notes some progress.

In the Senate, the majority whip, deputy minority whip and a member of the Speaker’s panel are women.

In the National Assembly, deputy Speaker, deputy majority leader and two members of the Speaker’s panel are women.

COMMITTEES
However, the report notes that women are under-represented in the committees and in committee leadership in particular.

In the National Assembly women chair eight committees out of 27, which represents 30 per cent, but only two are committee vice chairs. 

As for the Senate, while women chair only one committee, an ad hoc committee, they occupy half of the committee vice chairs.

IPU observes that women are under-represented in committee membership, especially in those dealing with budget, planning, finance, infrastructure, economy and trade where they tend to make up 10 per cent or less membership.

Reasons for this, the IPU notes, is that a majority of women are first time legislators and did not receive a timely targeted induction on how appointments to committees work within respective political parties.

“The Parliamentary culture is still male dominated. Staff often have to work long hours and their work load is heavy.

“Women may be particularly reluctant to apply for positions in Parliament, especially senior ones due to existing stereotypes that imply that one cannot be a good wife and mother if one works for such long hours,” the report states.

ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICIES
Because of this, the existing family-friendly policies do not seem to apply evenly across all departments and, thus, women are reluctant to apply internally for senior positions as they feel their chances of success are small and that men are most likely to be replaced by other men.

On the other hand, the IPU report notes there remains a void in Parliament when it comes to gender equality, anti-discrimination or anti-harassment policies even though it acknowledges that national legislations that provide for such policies be implemented.

“At present, any discrimination or harassment related matters are potentially dealt with by the Powers and Privileges committee in cases relating to MPs and by the staff disciplinary committee when it relates to staff,” the reports.

FAMILY LIFE
However, it notes that it remains unclear what procedure is to be applied if harassment is inflicted on a member of staff by an MP or vice versa.

“In addition, while counselling mechanism for guidance and support of officers exists, it has not been formalised as part of the policy on sexual harassment and discrimination. It is likely that incidents may go unreported. 

“Bureaucracy and the absence of a clear policy on sexual harassment may deter a member of staff from reporting the case,” the report says, noting that the solution in addressing the challenge lies in the gender policy.

IPU acknowledges the decision by Parliamentary leadership to put in place family-friendly policies.

Women MPs and staff with babies up to one year old are now entitled to bring their child and nanny along with them for meetings and field visits outside Nairobi at Parliament’s expense.

EQUALITY
Both maternity and paternity benefits are available and a child care centre and possibly feeding room are planned in the new 27-storey building under construction.

But IPU notes that work environment in Parliament must also be gender-sensitive.

“Progress has been made in this regard in recent years, especially after the refurbishment of the chambers of both houses.

Before that time, toilets located in the chambers area were designed for use by men including the one meant for women,” the reports states.

Much as the gender equality work requires dedicated mechanisms and expertise, IPU regrets that no parliamentary body has specific mandate to promote gender equality.

WOMEN CAUCUSES

The report acknowledges that Labour and Social Welfare committees of both Houses are mandated to deal with gender equality, among other issues.

“At the moment, gender specific information and gender responsive analysis of matters before Parliament is mainly provided by the government,” the assessment shows, pointing out that Parliament has neither the control nor the initiative in this regard.

Women MPs have two caucuses, Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (Kewopa) and Kenya Women Senators Association (Kewosa), which contribute to Parliament’s work in the area of gender equality.

Even though they receive secretarial support from Parliament, they are not formally recognised as parliamentary structures and rely, to a certain extent, on external funding for their activities.

MANDATORY TRAINING
The report says that the push for gender equality should not be an exclusively women MPs’ affair.

While noting that Parliament has started addressing the issue through the establishment of the Gender desk, it wants the section adequately resourced so as to ensure that gender expertise is made available and that Parliament’s work and environment are monitored from a gender perspective.

“In the longer run, set up a gender equality committee in each House composed of men and women as a complement to Kewopa and Kewosa, which are not formal parliamentary bodies,” it says.

Similarly, the report calls for the training of all staff to understand gender issues and implementation mechanisms through mandatory training for new staff and then retraining every two years.

CAMPAIGNS
While the report acknowledges that women have acceded to leadership positions in some parties, it notes that the multiparty landscape in Kenya, the weak stability of political parties and sustainability of coalitions does not favour the establishment of strong gender equality policies in these structures.

In addition, most political gatherings occur in the late evening where overall insecurity and gender stereotype tend to scare most women active in political parties away from such gatherings.

For the way forward, IPU recommends that women caucus and other stakeholders that support women candidates to start informing women early, both during the campaigns and again at their induction as new MPs, on how designations to leadership positions and committee membership work.

It also calls for an introduction of one third quota for women leadership positions in Parliament as chairs and vice chairs of committees.