What you need to know about entrepreneurship in Sierra Leone: Tactics To Reduce Sexual Harassment
In 2019 I hosted over dozen free digital skills and marketing trainings in Freetown. This was a training for women entrepreneurs in Sierra Leone. It covered content marketing and a course titled “Doing Business in Sierra Leone as a Woman”.
As there are very few resources online about entrepreneurship in Sierra Leone, especially from a woman’s perspective this post is one of four where I share my insights and tips on clients, contracts, recruitment, service delivery, and safeguarding tactics for women. This is part 4.
What you need to know about entrepreneurship in Sierra Leone: Tactics To Reduce Sexual Harassment
Every girl and woman in Sierra Leone in business is at risk for sexual harassment at work. From the girls hawking fruits on the street to a founder like me. It is a deplorable situation but it is a fact of business life. Men don't become less predatory when they suit up for work, if anything they become more so. Women leaders already exist in a state of hypervisibility. If you're in media and marketing it's even worse. I use tactics to safeguard myself against sexual harassment.
One way to limit exposure is to stop doing cold calls to offices. A woman entrepreneur who goes to seek a contract is a woman vulnerable to sexual harassment. Predators will use this opportunity to lure you into “meetings” and harass you.
If you must have meetings with men, have more than one team mate go with you. Let the teammate know that their role is to ensure your safety. Do not meet alone.
Establish firm and professional boundaries with men. Don't tolerate remarks that cross lines of professionalism. You must put a stop to any comments about your relationship status, your body, etc. Speak up for yourself. It can be intimidating but stop them right at the start. You have to make them feel uncomfortable, and being vocal is the key.
Every kind of Sierra Leonean man is capable of being a sexual predator. Returning from the diaspora after 30 years abroad does not make any man exempt. The Sierra Leonean man who is a predator will be one once back (where women are less protected) at home.
If a man should reach out to you requesting your services. Ask them to send you an email with a brief. After the brief if they want to meet, schedule a virtual meeting. And then when you must meet make sure boundaries have been set.
Do not engage with men on Whatsapp after work hours. If you receive a Whatsapp message at night from a lead or client do not respond till it is morning. Often these late night messages about work are tests to see if you’re available so they can cross the line.
There is no way to protect yourself against sexual harassment. It is not your fault. If you are a women in business in Sierra Leone, all you can do is limit interaction as best as possible. This is the sad reality of life as a woman entrepreneur in SL.
End Note: What I have tried to capture with this four part series are practical tips from lessons learned doing business in Sierra Leone over the past five years. During this period I traveled to SL on average of 4 times a year. My trips were between 4-8 weeks in length with two longer trips of five months in 2018 (working on elections coverage with AYV and producing my TV Show) and six months (locked in during the early parts of the pandemic). Mt experience and perspective is that of a woman who has privileges and access the majority of Sierra Leoneans lack. Also, Before I launched my marketing company, I was already known as a TV media personality as TV Host of the Vickie Remoe Show. Lastly, my lens is heavily influenced by the US. I have lived more of my life outside of Sierra Leone than within and there is a double consciousness that comes with that existence that one can never escape. I am available for speaking engagements and to train.
