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Due to the rising cases of sexual harassment in the country, the United Nations (UN) has made case for the swift passage of the Bill for the Prohibition of Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Institutions, which is now before the National Assembly. Making the case in Abuja recently during the People Journalism Prize for Africa 2019, the UN Women Country Representative in Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ms. Comfort Lamptey, urged the media and civil society to mobilise support for the passage of the bill.
Lamptey, who likened ending violence against women and girls as a key area at UN Women, said: “Women and girls are disproportionately subjected to violence, including femicide, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, trafficking and harmful practices.”
We commend the UN envoy for adding her voice to the call for quick passage of the sexual harassment bill. The sexual harassment bill, sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, seeks to criminalise all acts of sexual harassment and violations with stiffer penalties imposed on culprits. The strident calls for the passage of the bill came on the heels of increasing cases of sex-for-marks in tertiary institutions as well as the BBC documentary, which exposed two lecturers at the University of Lagos and a lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon. Considering the fact that cases of sexual harassment are still rampant in our higher institutions, we call on the federal lawmakers to expedite action on the sexual harassment bill and ensure that it is passed forthwith. The lawmakers should give this matter the urgency it deserves.
The envisaged law should be explicit enough and have stiffer sanctions for would-be offenders. All impediments to the speedy passage of the bill must be done away with. The female students must be saved from the harmful activities of randy lecturers in our higher institutions.
We also call on civil society groups and human rights activists to mount pressure on the National Assembly to see the need to quickly pass the sexual harassment bill. We also think that the university authorities and the lecturers should support the call to ensure the passage of the sexual harassment bill. Making their input available to the lawmakers will enhance the passage of the bill.
President Muhammadu Buhari last year warned that any lecturer indicted in the sex-for-marks scandal and other sexual-related offences would be severely punished. We believe that one of the best ways to ensure that such unscrupulous lecturers are given adequate punishment is by expeditiously passing the sexual harassment bill into law. Although sexual harassment has been with us for a long time, it is expected that with civilisation men should be able to control their base instincts. The fact that sexual harassment is on the rise underscores the need for a new law with stiffer sanctions against the perpetrators. It is sad that sexual harassment is rampant in higher institutions where some unscrupulous lecturers take undue advantage of their female students.
We condemn the rise in sexual harassment in the country, especially in higher institutions. It is unfortunate that some lecturers abuse their authority over their students whom they are supposed to act as their parents and mentors. The abuse of female students by some depraved lecturers is a negation of what the teacher/student relationship should be. Teachers are not supposed to have any sexual relationship with their female students. It is immoral to do so.
Therefore, it is expected that the bill before the National Assembly should be comprehensive enough to have provisions to counter all avenues for abuse. Any form of sexual harassment is a crime against society and must be treated as such. We suggest that stiffer penalties, including long prison terms, should be meted to the perpetrators of sexual harassment to serve as deterrent to those who may wish to toe the evil path in the future.
