Curbing sexual abuse in varsities

A legislative framework to tackle sexual harassment in Nigerian schools and tertiary educational institutions has passed a critical stage at the National Assembly. Titled: “Sexual Harassment of Students (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill 2025 (HB. 1597)”, it is capable of minimising the scourge of abuse that has helped make nonsense of our educational system.

The Bill which originated in the House of Representatives was last week given a concurrent passage in the Senate for the third reading. Explaining the outline of the Bill, Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, said it is aimed at protecting students from all sorts of sexual harassment in the academia, and contains clear legal framework for punishment of offenders. Those convicted will face between five and 14 years in prison without the option of fines.

According to him: “This Bill is enacted to promote and protect ethical standards in tertiary education, the sanctity of the student-educator of authority, dependency, trust and respect for human rights in the educational institutions”.

If passed into law, it will enable students or their representatives to take legal actions when sexually harassed by their educators. Sexual harassment is defined under the Bill as: “Grabbing, hugging, kissing, rubbing, touching the breasts, hair, lips, hips or any other sensual part of the body of a woman; displaying, giving or sending sexually explicit materials, whistling, winking, making sexual remarks or stalking a student”.

It will also not be a defence that a student consented to any offence, except when the educator and the student are legally married. Furthermore, a complaint can be filed by the affected student or her relative or lawyer, addressed to the Nigeria Police or the Attorney General and copied to the institution’s Independent Sexual Harassment Committee.

Over the years, sexual abuse of female students had become part of the “norm” because enough steps were not taken to curb it. Rogue lecturers and tertiary institution staff occupying powerful positions used them to forcefully extract sexual and financial favours from hapless students. On the other hand, crooked students also resorted to using their bodies, rather than their brains, to “graduate”.

The impact of this was that many unwilling students were forced to suffer in silence until some of the brave ones started speaking out and taking legal actions. Misguided lecturers see extraction of sexual favours from their students as parts of their “official entitlements”. This is one of the greatest factors behind the epidemic of illiterate and unemployable graduates, some of whom can hardly fill their forms.

Since students started resisting the corrupt lecturers, well over 20 educators drawn from various varsities have been disgraced and convicted. This law gives enormous powers to our students to guard their personal virtues against scallywag sexual predators masquerading as educators.

It will help to restore the reputation of our “ivory towers”.

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