A BBC news documentary that uncovered evidence of sexual abuse by managers at tea plantations in Kenya has prompted investigations by Kenya’s Parliament and by local police. The one-hour documentary, which focused on tea gardens run by two British companies, aired on February 20.
“Sex for work: The true cost of our tea” tells the stories of over 70 women who describe abuse by their managers at tea gardens operated by Unilever and James Finlay & Co. The video by BBC Africa Eye and BBC Panorama received 1.5 million views in 10 days as well as nearly 5,000 comments on the broadcaster’s website. The U.K.-based Fairtrade Foundation issued a statement calling the allegations “appalling” and “nothing less than a #MeToo moment for tea.”
The documentary features on-camera allegations by 10 women. In segments recorded by hidden camera, a volunteer investigator poses as a job seeker and meets with a veteran recruiter for James Finlay & Co. The recruiter offers her money and a job, then pins her to a window and tells her to undress, saying, “We’ll lie down, finish, and go. Then you come and work.”
Hidden cameras appear to capture other propositions, threats, and incidents of alleged sexual harassment involving women at work at several locations.
One woman told BBC reporter and producer Tom Odula that work contracts were scarce and job seekers were desperate. Mechanization of tea farming has led to layoffs, and one third of the former tea workforce now lacks employment. Job seekers are under high pressure to secure their livelihoods by giving in to bosses’ demands.
The incident described above was reported to the police in Kericho County, where the governor called for the immediate arrest of four managers that appear in the documentary. Kericho is the nation’s best-known tea-growing area, producing 222,270 metric tons in 2020 according to the Kenya Tea Board.
A spokesperson for James Finlay & Co. said that the company has suspended two managers and is investigating whether its Kenyan operation “has an endemic issue with sexual violence.”
Unilever owned the other Kericho tea properties in the documentary at the time of filming before they were sold to Lipton Teas and Infusions in July 2022. Lipton suspended two managers named in the report and promised a “full and independent investigation.”
Unilever told BBC it was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the allegations. Unilever faced similar allegations 10 years ago and launched a “zero tolerance” policy and reporting system. Women who appeared in the BBC documentary said, however, that managers had previously failed to act on reports of abuse.
Gladys Shollei, the deputy speaker of the Parliament of Kenya, ordered a committee of legislators to investigate the allegations and report back in two weeks. Kenya’s Ministry of Labor is investigating possible violations of the Employment Act and penal code. UK high commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott urged tea companies to investigate, cooperate with Kenyan authorities, and take action to protect staff in Kenya.
Beatrice Kemei, a member of the Parliament of Kenya representing Kericho County, told BBC that sexual harassment is “entrenched” at “tea multinationals operating in our country.” On Twitter, she urged “all residents of Kericho County, both men and women, to report any allegation of sexual harassment in their workplaces.”
Starbucks said it took “immediate action” to suspend purchases of James Finlay & Co. tea sourced from Kenya. British supermarket chains Tesco and Sainsbury’s both issued statements promising “robust action to safeguard workers” in their tea supply chains.
The video is posted on YouTube and the website of BBC World.