Appolonia Adeyemi 
As the outcry following the Senate passage of the Sexual Harassment Bill 2020 into law last month continues to rage in some quarters, the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abuja Chapter, Mrs. Hauwa Shekerau said the Bill provided protection for every member of the society.
The Sexual Harassment Bill 2020 similarly offered every adult the opportunity to be on their guard so as to avoid violating the law, said ShekaraU who was also a former country director of Ipas in Nigeria.
The chairman of NBA, Abuja Chapter highlighted the need for everyone to be vigilant and avoid sexual harassment in every ramification.
Shekarau spoke during a webinar on ‘Combating Sexual Harassment To Uphold Ethics in Nigeria’s Tertiary Education Institutions, organised by the Network of Reproductive Health Journalists of Nigeria (NRHJN).
The Sexual Harassment Bill, which was sponsred by the Deputy Senate President, Omo Agege, was passed into law last month, to prevent and prohibit the sexual harassment of students in tertiary education institutions. The Bill came about following increase in sexual harassment of students in tertiary institutions.
According to her, “The beneficiaries of this bill are the society itself: the students and the lecturers, too will benefit from it because for those people who are wrongly accused and falsely accused, the Sexual Harassment Bill covers all those situations and what that means is that everybody must be on guard.
“In this day and age of technology, somebody can come into your office and you don’t know what gadget the person would be wearing.”
Consequently, he urged people to be on their guard, considering that some may go into the offices of others with gadgets that could record their immoral conduct including sexual harassment.
However, while Shekarau admitted that there were pieces of legislation for sexual harassment, she said, “There is need to harmonise all legislations addressing sexual harassment in the country for easy Implementation.
Shekarau said she would like to see an extension of the Bill address sexual harassment in the workplaces, markets, homes as well as other areas where people face sexual harassment.”
“There is need for harmonisation of all related laws. We must commend the legislature for passing the Bill; we, however call for a more comprehensive Bill.
She talked about the pervasiveness of sexual harassment all over the country. ”Sexual harassment is not a recent thing, it has always been with us from time immemorial. It is only that the presence of iphones has helped in exposing the culprits and having evidence.”
On his part, the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Abiodun Ogunyemi argued that though, there were bad eggs in the school system, the Bill would not address sexual harassment in the society as it is only targeted at lecturers.
Ogunyemi faulted the bill for targeting the tertiary institutions only, instead of addressing the issue of sexual harassment in all spheres of the society.
He further noted that thinning down the process of law to target individuals violated the ethics of making bills.
The academia therefore called on people to erase the impression that lecturers were predators.
In her reaction, the Chief Executive Officer of WARDC/Chairperson, Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi debunked claims that the Bill targeted lecturers in high institutions, adding that the law also addresses sexual harassment by non-academic staff in education institution. “This sexual harassment also happens to males. The law is not particularly attacking anyone. The problem is multifaceted and needs a multi-pronged approach.”
Mr. Kingsley Obom-Egbulem who is an activist, decried sexual violence in tertiary institutions, saying the ivory towers have carried on with so much impunity over the years.
Obom-Egbulem noted that when a system failed to regularise itself, it will be subjected to external regulations.
Also, sharing her experience as a rape survivor, a midwife from School of Nursing Yola, Adamawa State, Ms Davida Ajiboye, said she went through a psychological trauma that affected her self-esteem.
