Women on the frontline: Study warns GBV in agriculture is a growing business and economic risk
Participants follow proceedings during the forum addressing gender-based violence in agriculture at Hyatt Regency, Nairobi, on November 19, 2025.
What you need to know:
- A new study by IDH and the UN Global Compact Network Kenya reveals widespread gender-based violence across agricultural value chains in Kenya and beyond.
- Women face harassment, exploitation, and violence at multiple stages of production, exacerbated by climate stress, weak systems, and power imbalances.
The BBC aired an exposé of the widespread sexual abuse of female employees on tea farms in Kericho in 2023. More than 70 women working for foreign-owned estates recounted to the broadcaster how their supervisors had sexually abused them.
Around the same period, a woman employed on a tea estate in India told IDH about similar experiences. She described how harassment was rampant and how complaints, when acknowledged at all, often resulted in nothing more than a verbal warning. Faced with the constant threat of retaliation, she chose silence over reporting.
The two cases reflect countless other instances of sexual violence faced by women in agriculture. A new study by IDH and the UN Global Compact Network Kenya has exposed the extent of gender-based violence (GBV) across the agricultural sector. The report shows that GBV manifests at various stages of the agricultural value chain, with serious impacts on women in primary production, processing, distribution, and even at home.
From left: Women's economic empowerment specialist and gender lead for East and Southern Africa Wendy Okolo, State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action technical specialist John Ndonji, Pearl Dairy farmers Ltd chief human resource officer Catherine Njonjo, Coalition on Violence Against Women executive director Fridah Wawira and Kenya Private Sector Alliance gender specialist Lucy Mitei in a panel discussion during a forum addressing gender-based violence in agriculture at Hyatt Regency, Nairobi, on November 19, 2025.
The report, From Risk to Resilience: Building Safe, Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Value Chains, notes that women working in the horticultural sub-sector face high rates of sexual harassment on farms. Women in the shrimp sub-sector are also highly vulnerable, often coerced into accepting lower wages under threats of sexual violence.
In the banana export and cut-flower industries, job security is frequently tied to compliance with the sexual demands of male supervisors. The findings reveal an even higher prevalence of abuse on tea estates, where two out of three women report experiencing sexual or domestic violence.
At the national level, GBV carries substantial economic consequences, costing up to two per cent of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP), particularly in agriculture. Women remain concentrated in insecure, low-wage, and informal roles—conditions that expose them to heightened risks of harassment, exploitation, and violence.
Climate stressors such as droughts and floods, coupled with resource scarcity, are worsening vulnerabilities and heightening GBV risks in affected communities. For many women in agricultural value chains, violence occurs both in the workplace and at home, creating a cycle where domestic abuse and workplace exploitation reinforce each other.
Participants follow proceedings during a forum that addressed gender-based violence in agriculture at Hyatt Regency, Nairobi, on November 19, 2025.
Domestic violence on family-run farms deepens the financial and emotional strain on women. Such abuse can incapacitate survivors, reducing productivity and limiting their ability to generate income. Studies show that women in agriculture experience some of the highest rates of intimate partner violence, undermining their capacity to participate fully in farm activities.
Beyond primary production, the distribution stage also carries significant risks. Truck drivers often target minors and adolescents for sexual exploitation. “These pervasive issues illustrate the deep-rooted nature of GBV at every stage of the agricultural value chain, across widespread regions, and with targeted assaults on ethnic minorities,” the report states.
The study further indicates that GBV severely undermines efforts to strengthen rural development, nutrition, and food security. According to the World Bank, GBV remains one of the most widespread human rights violations globally, costing an estimated $1.5 trillion annually—about two per cent of global GDP. In Kenya, a recent National Gender and Equality Commission study found that the country loses Sh46 billion annually to GBV.
Women constitute about 41 per cent of the global workforce and 37 per cent of the global manufacturing workforce, with far higher representation in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where they account for as much as 70 per cent of the agricultural labour force.
Jenny Njino, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Network Kenya, said in Nairobi that inaction on GBV in Kenya’s agricultural sector has serious implications, including the suspension of export contracts in certain value chains, costing jobs, revenue, and national reputation. She emphasised that as global buyers demand stronger due diligence, Kenya must demonstrate robust and responsible business practices, including zero tolerance for GBV. She added that the UN Global Compact Strategy (2026–30) highlights three key pillars to help end the vice.
“The strategy seeks to equip companies to act by providing tools, guidance, and tailored support to embed the 10 principles into core operations and to catalyse collective action through business-led coalitions to address issues no single company can resolve alone, such as GBV, climate vulnerability, and labour risks.”
The strategy also aims to demonstrate that responsible practices create long-term value, resilience, and competitiveness. Kenya, she noted, has the opportunity to become a regional leader in developing climate-resilient and gender-responsive agricultural value chains.
“We encourage companies to consider commitments aligned with Forward Faster, including commitments on gender equality, living wages, climate resilience, and human rights due diligence. Let us work together to build value chains where women are safe, empowered, and able to thrive; when women thrive, businesses thrive, and communities become more resilient.”
She praised the Women’s Safety Accelerator Fund in the tea sector for proving that strong safeguarding protocols and grievance mechanisms enhance wellbeing and improve productivity.
Jenny Löfbom, the country director of IDH Kenya, said that in Sub-Saharan Africa—where women make up nearly 70 per cent of the agricultural workforce—GBV is not only a profound social injustice but also a significant business risk. She explained that it reduces productivity, fuels absenteeism, erodes worker wellbeing, and exposes firms to reputational and financial damage.
She added that organisations that proactively address GBV experience clear benefits, from reduced absenteeism to improved morale and profitability. Through initiatives such as the Women’s Safety Accelerator Fund, she said, the impact of coordinated and deliberate action is already visible. “By embedding GBV prevention into business strategy, promoting women’s leadership, and engaging men as allies, Kenya can set a global benchmark for gender-equitable and climate-resilient value chains,” she said.
However, she noted that Kenya lies at the centre of global tea, coffee, and horticulture value chains powered by the labour of women, yet many still face daily risks of harassment, violence, and exclusion.
Trini Ariztia, global gender director at IDH, observed that behind every incident, statistic, or “case” is a person navigating a complex landscape of power, silence, and survival. She noted that research shows a rise in climate-related stress is often accompanied by increased GBV.
IDH trade global gender director Trinidad Ariztia during a forum addressing gender-based violence in agriculture at Hyatt Regency, Nairobi, on November 19, 2025. Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
“This is not a marginal or abstract issue; it is structural. It is happening daily across farms, factories, pack houses, transport routes, and households. GBV is not invisible—it is simply unreported. But it shows up clearly in the numbers.”
She said that where supervisors are trained, grievance systems are anonymous and functional, men engage in discussions on respect and positive masculinity, and women understand their rights, fear gives way to trust and silence gives way to voice. She added that such environments produce better business outcomes.
“Data shows that in these environments absenteeism drops, productivity rises, men’s support for survivors increases from 20 to 85 per cent, harmful norms drop from 80 to 15 per cent, awareness of reporting systems rises from 17 to 79 per cent, and early marriage decreases by 46 per cent.”
Sebastian Gatimu, UN Women Kenya planning and coordination expert, said ignoring GBV is no longer a “social issue at the margins”. It is a core business risk and a key environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concern. “When a woman is harassed in a field, abused in a pack house, coerced into a job or promotion, or violated on her way to work, the impact is not only on her dignity and safety but also on productivity, staff retention, supply reliability, and ultimately, the competitiveness and reputation of entire value chains.”
He added that discussions on climate-resilient agriculture must go beyond seeds, technology, and insurance schemes to include resilient people, communities, and workplaces where women are safe, valued, and able to lead. Evidence, he said, clearly shows that workplace GBV contributes to absenteeism, staff turnover, and hidden operational costs.
He noted that GBV creates reputational risks and threatens access to international markets where buyers and investors demand stronger ESG performance. “When companies invest in prevention, safeguarding systems, and survivor-centred responses, they gain motivated and loyal workers, lower operational risk, and stronger relationships with buyers, investors, and communities.”
The report concludes that businesses stand to gain considerably from addressing GBV through stronger employee engagement, better productivity, higher profits, improved talent attraction and retention, reduced legal and financial risks, a stronger brand reputation, and enhanced stakeholder relations.
