An investigation by a UK media outlet has uncovered horrifying stories of dozens of women who are being subjected to sexual abuse at British-owned tea farms in Kenya. This was unearthed during an undercover investigation by BBC News Africa with the help of secret filming.
During the investigation, the local supervisors on tea plantations owned by Unilever and James Finlay & Co pressurised an undercover reporter for sex. Over 70 women on these Kenyan tea farms told the media outlet that they had been sexually abused by their supervisors.
What makes this investigation even more significant is that these are the Kenyan farms are those which make tea supplies to some of the UK’s most popular brands, including PG Tips, Sainsbury’s Red and Lipton. After the contents of the investigation came to light, three managers have been suspended so far.
This is not an isolated incident as Unilever faced similar allegations over a decade ago. At the time, the company launched a “zero tolerance” policy to put an end to these sexual harassment cases.
The company also resorted to various reporting system and other measures. However, a joint investigation by BBC Africa Eye and Panorama has revealed that allegations of sexual harassment were not being acted on. Many women told BBC’s Tom Odula that due to the dearth of work, they give in to the sexual demands of their bosses.
In a shocking revelation, a woman said that if they do not give in to the demands of their bosses, they are deprived of their incomes. “I can’t lose my job because I have kids,” said one woman. In another ghastly revelation, a woman said a divisional manager was asked to not do her job until she agreed to have sex with him. “It is just torture; he wants to sleep with you, then you get a job,” she said.
BBC was told by another woman that she had been infected with HIV by her supervisor as she was forced to have sex with him.
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