IS IT GOODBYE TO SEXUAL HARASSMENT ?

You may have noticed increased agitation about sexual harassment over the past few days in the media. On today’s #Fridayfive, we will look at the reason for that, which is the fact that the Sexual Harassment Bill, 2020 was passed earlier in the week by the Nigerian Senate, after it scaled through a third reading.

Here are five quick things you need to know about the bill, and a short paragraph explaining the hot takes.

1. The bill was originally introduced in 2016, but was revisited after a BBC investigation scandal hit the media in 2019. It was eventually passed after a thorough consideration of the report presented by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who headed the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.
2. It is aimed at preventing, prohibiting and redressing sexual harassment of students in tertiary educational institutions.
3. It defines “sexual offences” as including sexual intercourse with a student/ demands for sex from a student or prospective student/ intimidating /creating a hostile or offensive environment for the student by soliciting for sex or making sexual advances. It proposes several jail terms for such sexual offences.
4. It lists several other forms of harassment, some of which are stalking, grabbing, sending sexually explicit content by hand or courier or making sexually complimentary or uncomplimentary remarks about a student’s physique.
5. It provides for punishment for students who also bring false allegations against educators.

As expected, the bill has elicited a variety of mixed reactions from relevant stakeholders.

For instance, ASUU has claimed that there are extant laws which sufficiently address sexual harassment in tertiary institutions. The Senate report however revealed that the existing mechanisms for reporting and punishing sexual harassment are believed to either be non – existent or grossly inadequate.

Furthermore, an ex-chairman of ASUU had, in an interview condemned the law, describing it as discriminatory, citing reasons such as the fact that sexual harassment is pervasive everywhere, and not just in tertiary institutions; and that students have also been known to harass lecturers sexually.

Notwithstanding ASUU’s objections, students, gender advocates and human rights activists have applauded the bill, albeit expressing concerns as to its enforcement and practical implementation.

While we await the deliberations of the lower house and the final signature of the President, the general opinion seems to be that the success of the bill and the overwhelming sponsorship received from the Senate is commendable, and definitely a step in the right direction.

It is also noteworthy to add as lawyers, that in addition to internal disciplinary actions, a falsely accused educator is at liberty to sue a lying student for defamation.

We will, in our next article address the concept of defamation, and the elements that need to be present for you to sue someone who has damaged your reputation.