Press Release: ActionAid Ghana commends Government's push to criminalise "Sex-for-jobs" practices as a major step forward in advancing ILO C190 in Ghana.

Accra, Ghana – May 12, 2026 – At ActionAid Ghana, we welcome ongoing national efforts to criminalise the pervasive “sex-for-jobs” culture in Ghana, viewing this as a significant and timely step toward advancing the principles of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work.

We strongly assert that “sex-for-jobs” practices constitute a grave violation of human rights, gender equality, dignity, and decent work principles. We remain deeply concerned that this form of exploitation continues to disproportionately affect women and young job seekers, particularly those facing unemployment, poverty, social exclusion, and broader economic vulnerabilities. Young women in Ghana remain especially at risk within these exploitative power dynamics. Since 2019, ActionAid Ghana, in collaboration with its movement groups, Young Urban Women’s Movement (YUWM), has generated and shared evidence documenting the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, harassment, and workplace vulnerability experienced by women across sectors in Ghana.

We commend the renewed commitment by President John Dramani Mahama, policymakers, civil society organisations, and labour rights advocates who are calling for stronger legal, institutional, and accountability frameworks to address employers and persons in positions of authority who exploit power by demanding sexual favours in exchange for employment opportunities.

At ActionAid Ghana, we strongly believe that the growing national momentum to criminalise “sex-for-jobs” practices is fully aligned with our long-standing advocacy for the domestication and effective implementation of ILO Convention 190, which affirms the right of every person to a world of work free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence.

As a gender justice and social justice organisation, we reiterate that a core strength of ILO Convention 190 lies in its expansive and progressive definition of the “world of work.” This definition extends beyond formal workplaces to include recruitment processes, job-seeking environments, training spaces, and other work-related interactions, all critical entry points where many victims of “sex-for-jobs” exploitation experience coercion, intimidation, abuse of power, and systemic vulnerability.

We further stress that sexual exploitation within recruitment and employment systems undermines meritocracy, fairness, dignity, and equal opportunity, while entrenching structural gender inequalities and perpetuating unsafe and discriminatory work environments.

We therefore view the current national conversation as a critical policy window for Ghana to strengthen labour protection systems and ensure full alignment of national legal and institutional frameworks with international labour standards, particularly ILO Convention 190.

In light of this, we are calling for:

• Clear, comprehensive, and enforceable legislation criminalising sexual exploitation in recruitment and employment processes; 
• Safe, confidential, accessible, and survivor-centred reporting and redress mechanisms; 
• Strong institutional accountability and zero-tolerance enforcement across both public and private sector institutions; 
• Increased public awareness, advocacy, and preventive education in the workplace harassment, abuse of power, and gender-based violence; and 
• Stronger alignment of Ghana’s labour, gender, and workplace protection frameworks with the standards and principles of ILO Convention 190. 

At ActionAid Ghana, we maintain that ending workplace sexual exploitation is both a gender justice and economic justice imperative. Women and young people must be guaranteed equal access to employment and professional advancement based on competence, qualifications, and merit — free from coercion, intimidation, discrimination, and abuse of power.

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About AAG: 

ActionAid Ghana (AAG) is a registered Non-Governmental Organization and part of a global movement committed to promoting human rights and fighting poverty in over 45 countries. We believe that people living in poverty can create change for themselves and their communities, and AAG serves as a catalyst for that change. In Ghana, we operate in 11 of the 16 administrative regions: Upper East, Upper West, Northern, Savannah, North-East, Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, Volta, Oti, and Greater Accra. Our mission is to create a just and sustainable world where everyone can live with dignity, free from poverty and oppression. For more information and interviews, kindly reach out to the PR & Communications Unit of ActionAid Ghana via email on Jacqueline.Parditey@actionaid.org or call 0531024733.