Opoku-Agyemang calls for prosecution of perpetrators of sex-for-jobs abuse

Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has called for prompt investigations into sexual exploitation allegations in workplaces and educational institutions, stressing that anyone found guilty must be appropriately sanctioned.

She warned that demands for sexual favours in exchange for employment opportunities or academic grades were damaging to Ghana’s development, depriving institutions of talent, weakening productivity and undermining public trust.

The Vice President made the call at the 2026 Sex for Jobs Conference in Accra, where she described the practice as an abuse of authority that violates personal dignity and compromises the integrity of workplaces and educational institutions.

“The exploitation known as sex for jobs in workplaces and sex for grades in academic and training institutions constitutes an abuse of power, an erasure of bodily autonomy, and a breach of institutional integrity,” she said.

Professor Opoku-Agyemang said the consequences went beyond the immediate harm to victims, noting that such misconduct also carried significant economic and social costs.

“Beyond the moral injury, these are economic and social costs, including lost productivity and wasted talent. Every instance of abuse that forces people into silence erodes public trust in the institutions established to serve those people,” she added.

She said government acknowledged the scale of the problem and its responsibility to ensure that allegations were properly addressed.

She further advocated independent and confidential reporting mechanisms to protect complainants, particularly in cases where the accused persons wield authority over victims’ recruitment, promotion or academic progression.