«”Thank for your concern, most at times, girls are victim of sexual harrasment by male counterparts in their place work and no action by d parent but eye on d domestic workers frm ASP SAP”»
That observation exposes another painful truth about domestic work in Nigeria. Abuse inside the home is not limited to unpaid wages, physical assault, or false accusations. Many female domestic workers endure sexual harassment and intimidation from male members of the households they serve. Some are pursued by employers, adult sons, relatives, or even teenage boys who assume that poverty has stripped these women of the right to refuse unwanted advances. When they resist, they are threatened, dismissed, falsely accused of theft, or forced into silence. The greatest tragedy is that some parents choose to protect their own children instead of confronting the wrongdoing. Justice cannot survive where family loyalty outweighs moral responsibility.
Sexual harassment is not a private family matter. It is an abuse of power and a violation of human dignity. A domestic worker does not surrender her constitutional rights when she accepts employment. She enters a workplace, even if that workplace happens to be a private home. The law must recognise that truth, and society must stop treating allegations of sexual abuse against domestic workers as inconvenient family scandals. Every credible complaint deserves impartial investigation. Every victim deserves protection. Every offender deserves due process. The identity or social status of the accused must never determine whether justice is pursued.
This silence carries consequences far beyond a single household. It teaches young men that privilege can shield misconduct. It teaches victims that speaking out is dangerous. It teaches society that power matters more than truth. Such lessons weaken the moral foundation of the nation. Homes are expected to shape character, yet when parents excuse harassment because the victim is “only a house girl,” they raise children who mistake dominance for masculinity and impunity for success. No nation can build responsible citizens while normalising exploitation behind closed doors.
Justice demands consistency. Employers who suffer theft deserve legal protection. Domestic workers who suffer assault, sexual harassment, unpaid wages, or false accusations deserve the same protection. Human rights cannot be selective. The Constitution does not distinguish between the wealthy homeowner and the young woman who cleans the house. Both stand equal before the law. Equality loses all meaning when justice is reserved for those with influence while the vulnerable are left to bear their suffering alone.
The debate is no longer about domestic workers alone. It is about the kind of society Nigeria chooses to become. A just nation neither excuses crime because the offender is rich nor dismisses abuse because the victim is poor. It rejects violence, exploitation, sexual harassment, and false accusations with equal determination. Justice begins at home, not only when employers protect their property, but when they protect the dignity, safety, and humanity of every person under their roof. Only then can the home truly become what it was always meant to be: the first school of justice.
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
08152094428 (SMS Only)
