Kakuzi PLC has unveiled champions among its employees to spearhead their Sexual Harassment Awareness Reporting and Prevention (SHARP) program.
The company’s week-long awareness campaign provides an opportunity to create awareness, and encourage reporting through victim centered approaches in relation to incidences of sexual harassment.
The campighn is meant to sensitize roles and responsibilities towards ensuring the enjoyment of Human rights by all as a prerequisite to a safe, healthy and conducive working environment for all.
During the SHARP week, the induction and training of SHARP champions was served to ensure that all employees across the operations have direct access points to information and training related to the SHARP Program.
These foundational pillars of the SHARP program serve to enhance credibility and confidence that the company is committed to deal with issues in a serious, expeditious, sensitive and confidential manner.
“We look forward to working with our SHARP champions to sensitize all employees on prevention of sexual harassment now and in the future. Through this program, we guarantee that the r safeguards provided will be fully implemented at all times. It is going to take all of us to be deliberate and proactive towards the success of this program. We encourage that you all make a personal resolve to be self-aware and sensitive to others in order to promote a conducive working environment for all. By taking voluntary leadership to steer this process, I would like to congratulate our SHARP champions for availing all of us the opportunity to set the pace for our commitment to Zero tolerance to sexual harassment,” said Stella Wangechi, the Human Rights Manager of Kakuzi.
Spearheaded by the Human Rights manager, the unveiling of the champions was a strong indication that the Company is committed to a continuous process of prevention of sexual harassment.
Several employees made personal and voluntary signed commitments to contribute to the prevention and encourage the reporting of cases. Innovatively, wrist bands with information on confidential reporting channels were disseminated alongside posters on notice boards across all divisions of the farm.
The SHARP program is founded on safeguarding of victims by providing confidential reporting lines that are managed outside of the operations. The program comes with guarantees of confidentiality, non-retaliation and sensitivity to victims through the provision of a full-time counselor that supports the handling of cases.
On August 10, Kakuzi appointed Kenya’s former Attorney General Professor Githu Muigai firm to chair its newly formed Independent Human Rights Advisory Committee (IHRAC).
The appointment of the committee makes the firm to become the first corporate organization in Sub Sahara Africa to constitute and establish an independent advisory panel benchmarked against the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Kakuzi PLC Managing Director Chris Flowers said the committee will provide the company with an independent technical advisory to the firm’s Board of Directors, and to ensure the company adheres to human rights issues.
“The technical advisory and expertise would guarantee sustainable compliance with global human rights matters across the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) listed firm’s operations,” said Mr. Flowers.
