Someone mentioned that perhaps Nation should write a story on how lecturers prey on female students for sexual favours in return for good grades.  Last year, the nation did the story on Lecturers preying on female students and I remember the writer interviewed some students who had been involved with some of the lecturers.
What came out is that some lecturers do indeed ask for these favours.  Unfortunately, the female students were very clear in the fact that as much as the threat was veiled and that they were scared stiff of refusing the advances, they still made the choice to go ahead and sleep with the lecturer so that their ‘future’ could be ’secured’. Later they discovered that with the many units you have to go through while in campus, and with the different lecturers having you for each unit, they ended up making some really bad decisions.  They also discovered that trying to stop this illicit relationships is not easy because you don’t always get to do it just once, and you are not always sure how many other female students the lecturers are having the same relationship with, therefore putting you at risk to contracting a sexually transmitted disease.

According to the same article, there are also instances where some female students go ahead and offer the same service to ensure a good grade and these few incidences make the rest of the genuine cases look unbelievable.

I remember when we were in campus and some students felt that their papers had not been given the grade they thought they deserved and the Dean of Students would always order a remark on the paper for a certain specified fee (paid to the campus) and this option was always available as soon as all grades were out and the remark request made within the first month immediately after.  I really hope this is an option available in all Colleges across kenya and/the world.

When it comes to the work place, the same principle applies.  If you managed to get this job, chances are that you will definately get another job should you loose this one.  I know some girls feel that they have been put in a situtation where they don’t have a choice, but I always say that you should never allow anyone to have that much power over you (that power should always be within you) and always remember that you are the one who responds to the request and makes a choice to submit to the person’s advances. There is always an alternative, even if that alternative causes you to loose your job. 

In the case of rape in the work place, which is something that should never happen to anyone, always remember that you did not have a choice in the matter, it is beyond your employer and you should report this to the police immediately after it happens.
Always be careful in situations where you are requested to work late, trust your intuition and instinct and ask a friend who is a colleague to stay with you in the office, and if this is not possible, you would rather come in early the next day and do the work unless its a matter of life and death (which means you must be a doctor or work for the Police). If you are travelling out of the country with this person, and have to stay with him in a hotel, check the sleeping arrangements and ensure that you have seperate rooms before you leave.  Request for a room near the reception area if possible and always ask the guard, waiter or an employee of the hotel to escort you to your room after meals. Watch what you are eating always. If your instincts however tell you that the situation is just not right, simply refuse to go on the trip and ensure the head of the division and HR are aware of what is happening and start looking for another job immediately or even start thinking of starting out on your own.

My belief is that i would rather have a bad grade and repeat the class twice if need be, or even loose a job rather than succumb to such duress.  In life, good things always come to those who wait and always know that something great will always come out of every worse situation.  I would therefore encourage every woman who finds herself in such a situation to always beleive that there is always another way, there is always an option.