Sextortion is a global phenomenon that causes serious harm, robbing women of dignity and opportunity. This is a problem for many areas, including employment, education, accessing essential services such as medical treatment, justice and law enforcement.
Sextortion occurs where corruption and sexual exploitation intersect, and it can be fatal. Despite this, it is more difficult to prove in court than the extortion of money and thus is often overlooked. Women are a primary target, and instead of being asked to pay a monetary bribe to access an essential service or to advance in school, women are pressured to spend with their bodies. The victim is then forced to suffer in silence for fear of stigmatisation. Zimbabwe has recorded an unprecedented number of young women reporting being forced to offer sexual favours in exchange for jobs, medical care, and even when seeking placements at school for themselves or their children. Sextortion is a problem worldwide, with far-reaching costs regarding physical and mental health and human dignity. Sextortion promotes gender inequality and hinders a women’s development. It violates a woman’s right to protection against sexual harassment, degradation and discrimination.
Sextortion is also significantly prevalent in schools, where girls and young women are pressured to have sex with teachers or lecturers to receive a passing grade. If they do not comply, there is the risk that they could fail out of school. Others drop out of school because they cannot handle the sexual harassment.
Sextortion remains an invisible phenomenon that thrives on silence and lack of understanding but is a form of corruption where entrusted power is abused for private gain. Therefore, a precise definition of sextortion as a form of corruption and criminal offence should be included in national and institutional legal frameworks and anti-corruption efforts. It should also be mentioned clearly in the ethical rules and professional codes of conduct at the workplace and in schools, universities, hospitals and wherever sextortion could occur.
Often, women subjected to extortion do not speak up because they fear losing their jobs or financial means or because of social stigmatisation. To ensure women can safely report this crime, there must be a formal and confidential system to receive and register complaints that ensure the incident is investigated with guaranteed confidentiality. Going further, legal, institutional and community protection mechanisms for these victims must be created, along with legal and psychological support, to encourage victims to speak up and to hold the perpetrators accountable.
In the larger scheme of anti-corruption efforts, there is a crucial need for more studies, surveys and research on sextortion as a category of corruption. A solid research foundation can further help identify critical areas for prevention programming.