Sign anti-sexual harassment bill into law, group urges Tinubu

BY Ogechi Chukwu
a year ago

On Thursday, a group of women’s rights organizations applauded Nigeria’s students and the 9th National Assembly for passing the Sexual Harassment Prohibition Bill.

The measure would institutionalize the prohibition and punishment of sexual harassment, according to the gender rights organizations, who urged President Bola Tinubu to sign it quickly in order to safeguard the safety of all students nationwide.

These were said in a statement released in Abuja on behalf of other women groups by the Executive Director of the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi.

She said, “Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre and Women At Risk International Foundation congratulate the 9th National Assembly and Nigerian Students on the passage of the Sexual Harassment Prohibition Bill. Sexual harassment in tertiary institutions is a plague that threatens the sexual safety, bodily autonomy, and educational careers of students.

“With the support of the UN Women Spotlight Initiative, WARDC and WARIF have been advocating for the passage of a sexual harassment prohibition law. As a convener of student advocates from across Nigeria for the Sexual Harassment Prohibition Bill’s passage, it fills us and our partners with joy that a comprehensive Bill was adopted and passed.

“The long title; ‘A Bill for an Act to Make Comprehensive Provisions for the Prohibition and Punishment of Sexual Harassment of Students by Educators and Other Persons In and Out of Tertiary Institutions for Related Matters’, widens the scope of the Bill.

“The passage of the Bill sends a strong message to all that the National Assembly is committed to ending sexual harassment and violence in educational institutions across the nation. Its assent into law will institutionalize the prohibition and punishment of sexual harassment.

“We call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to ensure the assent of this Bill is a priority because of the unique contribution to the protection of all students across the nation.”