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CALABAR – Sexual harassment and exploitation in Nigerian Universities and campuses of other institutions of higher learning have almost become a norm especially when associated with sex for grades or grades for sex.
Worried by these issues, federal lawmakers, in 2016, took steps to reverse the trend by producing a legal instrument that criminalises the acts.
The Senate at its plenary session on Tuesday, 7 July 2020 passed the Sexual Harassment Bill, 2020 (SB 77) which seeks to prevent, prohibit and redress the sexual harassment of students in tertiary educational institutions.
However, two years after the Senate passed the bill and a year after the green chamber passed it, the bill is yet to be assented to by the President.
In a bid to continually lend its voice against sexual exploitation in tertiary institutions while pushing for the presidential ascent of the bill and institutionalisation of sexual harassment policies in schools, a group known as Sofadondo, held its 3rd National Conference in Calabar with youths, students and stakeholders in attendance.
Speaking at the event, the National Coordinator of the Group, Nje Umoren said SofaDonDo will do all within its powers to ensure the bill gets presidential ascents and it is further domesticated by the various states’ houses of assembly across the 36 States of the federation.
In his keynote address, a professor of law and a university lecturer of 30 years, Prof. Jacob Abiodun Dada averred that the practice is not only carried out by lecturers as the society have been made to believe stating that there are times where lecturers are actually the victims and not the perpetrators.
Dada who emphasised the need to condemn both sexual harassment and transactional sex in higher institutions of learning, wondered why with so many laws and policies around this issues, it has become so difficult to deal with it. He however, proffer some solutions which includes assisting victims to speak out while protecting them.
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| Dr Hannah Edim Speaking on the Conference Theme |
“The problem we have in Nigeria has never been, issues of inadequacy, shortage or lack of laws, governing relationships in Nigeria, every type of relationships. We have laws, robust, adequate, comparable with what exist internationally, to deal with any situation and circumstance that you may think of, but the problem has always been that of implementation or enforcement.”
“Since laws generally are not self executed, so the responsibility of ensuring the effectiveness or efficacy of the law lies not only on the institutional agencies established by the law but in the citizens.”
“Therefore, beyond issues of policy, beyond institutionalisation, I have one or two things to say by way of recommendations. We must instill and entrench proper education, proper advocacy. You know we are living in a tyrannical regime of conspiracy of silence. We must encourage everyone to speak up and ensure the laws are enforced, exposed perpetrators and protect victims.” Prof. Dada said.
Dr. Mrs Hannah Edim, former National Coordinator of Sofadondo who spoke with journalist on the sideline of the event informed that in it’s five years of existence, the group have been able to ensure that the issue of sex for grades or transactional sex becomes a topical issue of discussion on campus and students are willing to speak up. She also informed that there are mechanisms put in place to protect both the victims, journalist or whistle blowers.
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| National Coordinator of Sofadondo, Bar Umoren |
Sofadondo is a movement started by a group of concerned Nigerians to fight the scourge of sexual predation by lecturers in Nigerian universities and as since inception, been working to expose the sex for marks epidemic plaguing the Nigerian educational system and holding the perpetrators accountable.
