Dozens of women 'abused' on British-owned tea farms in Kenya

BBC investigation finds more than 70 women producing tea for major brands suffered harassment

Workers harvest tea leaves at a plantation near Limuru, Kenya. Reuters

Dozens of women were subjected to sexual abuse while working on British-owned tea farms in Kenya, a BBC investigation has found.

The joint investigation by BBC Panorama and BBC Africa Eye claims women producing tea for major brands were pressured to have sex with their bosses in return for work.

More than 70 women who work on the plantations have suffered some form of sexual harassment at work, it said.

Secret footage captured as part of the investigation shows the moment a recruitment manager for Scottish firm James Finlay & Company corners an undercover investigator and demands sex, during what was supposed to be a job interview for work on a tea farm.

Following the investigation, James Finlay and Co told the BBC it had suspended and barred the employee from its tea farms and reported him to the police.

The company also told the broadcaster that it was investigating whether its Kenyan operation had “an endemic issue with sexual violence”.

James Finlay and Co is the second largest tea company operating in Kenya's Rift Valley. It supplies tea to Sainsbury's and Tesco supermarkets.

Responding to the findings, Sainsbury's told the BBC the “horrific allegations have no place in our supply chain”, while Tesco said that it is in “constant dialogue” with the company to ensure “robust measures” are taken.

Separate video reveals two managers sexually harassing an undercover investigator at a tea farm which was, at the time of filming, owned by British Dutch company Unilever.

Unilever told the BBC it was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the allegations, and employees who breached its Code of Conduct had been dismissed, and any criminality reported to the police.

The investigation for BBC Panorama, Sex for Work: The True Cost of Our Tea, airs on Monday on BBC One at 8pm and on BBC iPlayer.