The Senate on Monday, February 17, 2020, held a public hearing on a bill to prohibit sexual harassment in tertiary institutions.
A wide range of stakeholders including students, Civil Society Organisations, CSO’s, pressure groups among others is present at the public hearing.
Some of them who spoke with Channels Television described the bill as long overdue and added that the Senate should expand the scope of the bill to include students in primary and secondary schools.
According to the groups, students in these categories also face sexual harassment from their teachers.
The anti-sexual harassment bill is sponsored by Senate deputy president Ovie Omo-Agege following a BBC investigation that uncovered alleged sexual misconduct by lecturers in Nigeria and Ghana
“Sexual harassment in our campuses is a repugnant challenge to our values as a people. For far too long, sexual predators masquerading as educators have plied the corridors of our nation’s higher institutions unchecked. It will continue in the absence of an appropriate leadership response,” Omo-Agege said while sponsoring the bill.
If the bill becomes a law it would be illegal for lecturers to make any sexual advances towards students.
