Ovie Omo-Agege, deputy president
of the senate, has urged parents and youth to support enactment of effective
law against sexual harassment in work places and educational institutions.
In a statement by Yomi Odunuga,
his special adviser on media and publicity, Omo-Agege said the support would
accelerate the success of the bill towards becoming an effective law against
sexual harassment in Nigeria.
“It is a problem that has caused
academic injustice, depression and countless other negative effects on
individuals and the society in various parts of the world,” he said.
“But the key to lasting change is
for us to begin it within our own environment.
“I applaud the First Lady, Hajia
Aisha Buhari, the First Lady of Ekiti, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, the Academic Staff
Union of Universities (ASUU)and all those who stoutly rose in support of the
BBC’s commendable journalistic endeavour that is effectively beaming light on a
hidden menace.
“I am wholly convinced that the
unique student-educator relationship of authority, dependency and trust should
never be violated. By the maxim of loco parentis educators are like parents.
“They owe a special fiduciary
duty of care to students under their authority – students who trust and depend
on them to shape their future career paths.
“It must therefore be extremely
offensive to a reasonable mind where an educator treats students as
‘perquisites’ of his office.
“As a father, it is an issue that
I cannot just accept. It is a shame on our conscience as a people. We will stop
it.
“In 2016, with the support of
several colleagues in the Senate, I tabled the Bill on the Prohibition of
Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Institutions which provides for a five-year jail
term or a fine of N5 million for any lecturer convicted for sexually harassing
male or female students.”
Omo-Agege added that the bill
also criminalised any act of neglect or failure by administrative heads of
tertiary institutions to address complaints of sexual harassment within a
specified period.
“It also made provisions to
adequately punish anyone found to have levelled false allegations of harassment
against lecturers and educators,” he said.
“I deeply appreciate the Academic
Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU) decisive change of position on this issue
which they opposed three years ago.
“Nobody’s daughter deserves to be
treated as ‘fringe benefit’ for anyone in position of trust and
responsibility.”
He said the psychological trauma
of sexual harassment had existed for too long and that was why the bill was
reintroduced.
The depute senate president said
that the punishment of five-year jail term for those found guilty should serve
as deterrent in a society that urgently need to address the issue of sexual
harassment.
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