An investigation into working conditions in garment factories in Lesotho revealed widespread sexual abuse of women. Annie Kelly travelled to southern Africa to investigate
Last year, a report by the Workers Rights Consortium NGO revealed widespread rape, sexual assault and harassment at a number of garment factories in Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho.
The Guardian’s Annie Kelly tells Rachel Humphreys how she travelled to Lesotho to discover for herself what had been going on in factories producing jeans for top brands such as Levi’s and Wrangler. Sethelile Nthakana, a WRC researcher, explains how the factories would operate using casual workers chosen at the gates, who would then be expected to enter relationships with the bosses who had selected them.
