Alliances for Africa (AFA) an international African-led human rights, peace and sustainable development organisation recently engaged with Vice chancellors of Universities and their Heads of Gender unit towards addressing sexual harassment in Nigerian universities.
Various studies found that 34.2% of the 160 students surveyed said that sexual violence was the most prevalent form of gender-based violence.
Also a 2018 World Bank survey discovered that 70 per cent of female graduates were sexually harassed in class by their classmates and lecturers.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has been urged to give assent to the Sexual Harassment Prohibition in Tertiary Education Institutions Bill as advocates and other concerned Nigerians maintain that sexual harassment in tertiary institutions is a national emergency that demands swift and decisive action.
Alliances for Africa’s engagement with the tertiary institutions’ leaders was captured by Arise News. Watch the video below.
AfA works to promote an end to violence against women and girls, advocate for human rights protection, gender justice and promotion of women’s leadership in governance and decision-making.
On Tuesday 7 July 2020, Nigeria’s Senate passed the bill on sexual harassment in tertiary institutions after reading it for the third time. The bill titled: ‘A Bill for an Act to prevent, prohibit and redress sexual harassment of students in tertiary educational institutions and for matters concerned therewith, 2019’, was sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, and 106 other senators.
Unfortunately, former President Muhammadu Buhari failed to sign it into law and after nearly one year in office, the bill is still lying idle on President Tinubu’s desk notwithstanding that even the House of Representatives has given it a nod.
Premium Times recounts the Sexual Harassment Bill’s history.
Bill history
In 2016 Ovie Omo-Agege, as then a member of Nigerian senate, introduced the bill to prevent sexual harassment in tertiary institutions.
Debates on the bill were not concluded as of the end of the 8th National Assembly in 2019. But Mr Omo-Agege, when he later became the the Deputy Senate President in the subsequent 9th National Assembly, alongside 106 other senators, reintroduced the bill in 2019.
The bill titled: ‘A Bill for an Act to Prevent, Prohibit and Redress Sexual Harassment of Students in Tertiary Educational Institutions and for Matters Concerned therewith, 2019’, was reintroduced in the Senate on 9 October 2019 and scaled second reading on 6 November 2019.
he bill, which seeks to promote and protect ethical standards in tertiary institutions, proposes up to 14 years jail term for offenders.
It also seeks to protect students against sexual harassment as well as prevent sexual harassment of students by educators in tertiary institutions.
But the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) opposed the bill when it was introduced.
The then President of the Union, Abiodun Ogunyemi, a professor, said the bill was targeted at stigmatising lecturers of higher institutions.
Mr Ogunyemi made his position known during a public hearing on the bill in February, 2020.
Both houses of the National Assembly, however, passed the bill in June and transmitted it to the president for assent. But the president has yet to assent to the bill.
Harassment as epidemic
Ms Ogunrotimi noted that the recent protest against the Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL) by some “brave students” underscores the urgency to confront the gravity of the issue and demand immediate action to protect the rights and well-being of students across the nation.
“The epidemic proportion of this issue serves as a poignant reminder that we must address the root causes and implement robust measures to dismantle the culture of sexual harassment that pervades our institutions of higher learning,” she said.
She said there are various initiatives to combat the scourge of sexual harassment including a sexual harassment prohibition policy co-designed and validated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the GMI, and higher education institutions, and endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Education.
“However, a critical void persists as an urgent need for a comprehensive legal framework that provides statutory backing to criminalise sexual harassment in higher education institutions is necessry,” she said.
She added that the absence of a dedicated legal framework leaves a critical gap that must be filled “to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of efforts against sexual harassment.”
Promising solution
The GMI Lead Director noted that the passing of the Sexual Harassment bill to become a law remains the promising solution.
She said the legislation is crafted to address the nuances of sexual harassment, providing a clear definition of offenses, establishing stringent penalties for perpetrators, and outlining mechanisms for the prevention and redress of sexual harassment.
She added that the president’s action will send a powerful message about the nation’s values and its dedication to fostering an environment where every student, particularly female students, can thrive.
Ms Ogunrotimi noted that the need for statutory backing is not just a formality, but a fundamental requirement to ensure that the provisions of the bill are legally enforceable to effect real change.
Additional reports from Premium Times.
