Doris Obinna
The Mothers And Marginalised Advocacy Centre (MAMA Centre) has commended the passage of the Sexual Harassment Bill by the Nigerian Senate, calling for prompt presidential assent to transmit the bill into law.
In a statement signed by the Executive Director, MAMA Centre, Mrs. Ola Onyegbula, the group appreciated the proactive legislative processes that informed the passage, saying: “We observed in the decision of the Upper Chamber, sincere commitment to address the plight of Nigerian women and girls, who constitute the major victims of the growing trend of sexual harassment, sexual abuse and sexual molestation in the country.
“It would recalled that MAMA Centre had through various programmes and activities as well as widely published media motions, joined other well-meaning organisations and individuals to condemn sexual harassment in all forms, with strong demand for appropriate policy response in institutionalizing proactive measures and enabling reporting system to support judicial interpretation of processes and laws to adequately sanction offenders in mitigating recurrence incidence at all levels.
“We therefore, call on President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of national urgency, assent to the bill.
“We encourage the state assemblies to follow suit in rapid adoption and full implementation of the bill as a demonstration of sincere commitment by the state governments to secure health, emotional and physical well-being of women and girls in the country,” the statement read.