Burundi : promotions, salaries, assignments… female employees denounce sexual harassment

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, August 17, 2026 — Workers who are victims of physical, psychological, or sexual violence in the workplace do not always dare to report the incidents. This situation constitutes an obstacle to the prevention and fight against workplace harassment, according to Emmanuel Niyomwungere, a member of the steering committee of the Burundi Employers’ Association (AEB), in an interview with SOS Médias Burundi.

According to him, the silence of victims contributes, in particular, to delaying the effective implementation of the International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions relating to the protection of workers against violence and harassment.

Confidential mechanisms for reporting violence

Emmanuel Niyomwungere calls on workers and employers to establish mechanisms that allow victims of violence or harassment to report incidents in a confidential setting.

He emphasizes the importance of ILO Convention N° 190, which addresses the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work. According to him, this convention includes policies and mechanisms for preventing and managing cases of violence and harassment in the workplace.

“Workers must be able to report the violence they experience without fear of reprisal,” he asserts, stressing the need to create a professional environment where victims can speak out safely.

Protecting workers’ mental health

For this AEB representative, Convention N° 190 is of particular importance for both employers and workers.

He believes that combating violence and harassment in the workplace helps protect the mental health and lives of people in the workforce, while also reducing the risks associated with stress and certain occupational illnesses.

“We must break the silence and speak out,” he advises victims of psychological or sexual harassment. He encourages them to use the available legal channels, including letters left in suggestion boxes, confidential email addresses, or phone messages addressed to the appropriate authorities.

Accusations of sexual pressure in exchange for professional benefits

For her part, a member of an association fighting violence against women denounces practices she considers particularly concerning in certain professional environments.

According to her, some offices, in both the public and private sectors, are sometimes transformed into meeting places for sexual encounters. She asserts that female employees can be subjected, willingly or unwillingly, to sexual advances from their superiors.

She argues that some victims face career-related pressure, particularly to obtain better performance reviews, salary increases, promotions, or work assignments within the country or abroad.

These accusations, which need to be documented and substantiated on a case-by-case basis, nevertheless illustrate, according to this speaker, the vulnerability of some individuals in hierarchical professional relationships.

Breaking the code of silence

Faced with these concerns, the speakers call for strengthening prevention, awareness, and complaint mechanisms in the workplace.

For Emmanuel Niyomwungere, the fight against harassment can only be effective if victims have safe, accessible, and confidential means to report abuse, and if complaints are handled appropriately.

Protecting workers from violence and harassment thus appears as a social, professional, and occupational health issue. The challenge now is to build enough trust to allow victims to break the silence and assert their rights.