A Labour Court in Cape Town upholds a decision clearing a nurse of sexual harassment allegations. The accusations concern the nurse’s conduct toward others, including over-hugging and blowing kisses.
The court rules that the gestures described are not sexual misconduct for the purposes of the sexual harassment provisions applied in the case. In doing so, it treats the alleged behaviour—affectionate actions such as hugging and kissing gestures—as not meeting the threshold required to establish sexual harassment.
Across coverage, the dispute centers on whether the nurse’s actions amounted to unwelcome sexual conduct or intent. The outcome is the same in reported accounts: the nurse is cleared after the court reviews and maintains the earlier decision, concluding that the conduct alleged does not qualify as sexual harassment under the relevant legal standard.
