Kogi State Government has warned against any form of sexual harassment across the various tertiary institutions in the State.
The Kogi State Commissioner for Education Hon Wemi Jones gave the warning on Tuesday at a one-day retreat convene for the Ministry of Education and Heads of Tertiary education institutions on State level adoption of the model anti-sexual harassment policy in Tertiary institutions in Kogi State held in Lokoja.
The commissioner argued that sexual harassment has eaten deep into the fabric of Nigerian society, adding that, the present administration has put up machinery to apprehend anyone involved in sexual harassment in Kogi State.
“The objective of this meeting is to facilitate State level and adopt the model anti-sexual harassment policy and secure the buy-in of institutional Heads on integration of campus safety initiative framework.
Why has Sexual harassment remained with us? Victims are usually scared to talk about them after being harassed because of stigmatization. That is why it has remained with us for a long time.
“The Federal Ministry of Education has commenced a program with the States Commissioner of Education, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Gender Mobile Initiative, (GMI) as a way of ensuring that we reduce and eliminate sexual harassment especially on our Tertiary institutions because that is where it happened the most.
“It is in this place you will see that the father of the home is sexually harassing his daughter, house helps, and all manner of things. It is not just one way. We have had incidences of the female gender harassing the other gender. After the meeting organized by the Federal Government to reduce sexual harassment, State Governments were advised by their Commissioner to bring it back home and domesticate it, especially using Tertiary institutions.
” That is why we are here today. I am sure we know the stands of the Kogi State Government on the issues of crimes and criminalities. Sexual harassment is a major criminal act and the State Government will not condole it. You are aware that whenever there is a policy at the Federal level, Kogi State is usually one of the first States to domesticate such policy.
“You would recall that towards the end of President Buhari’s tenure, there was the elongation of the service year for Teachers. It is a national policy. Kogi State is one of the first States to implement that policy. Recently, the Federal Government started the Senior Secondary Education Commission.
” The Commission that will be similar to the Universal Basic Education Commission. Kogi State is now the first State in Nigeria to also domesticate that law. Because of our proactiveness, we are going to adopt the policy against sexual harassment in Kogi State”
Jones added that there is a need to come up with a robust document that will ensure a conducive learning environment across Schools.
“We need a very robust document which we are going to use to work and make our State very safe for both genders so that we can collectively create and have a conducive learning environment” he added.
In his presentation on Institutionalizing campus safety initiative framework at all tertiary institutions in Kogi State, Dr Ernest Ogezi the Gender Mobile Initiative, noted that a recent study revealed that 69.8 people have been sexually harassed as students in their various Schools and less than 10 percent have been reported to the appropriate authority.
He described sexual harassment as an unwanted behavior of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity, making an individual feel intimidated, degraded, or humiliated, and/or creating a hostile or offensive environment.
He identified poor implementation of sexual harassment, uneven power relations, culture of silence, absence of anti sexual harassment prohibition bill in Nigeria, lack of confidential reporting channel, and absence of sexual harassment policy at Tertiary institutions in Nigeria as some of the causes of sexual harassment.
Ogezi recommended the setting up of sexual harassment policy, constitution of anti sexual harassment prohibition committee, robust collaboration with other Stakeholders, provision of medical and psychosocial support services as the solutions to reduce sexual harassment in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Post gathered that heads of various tertiary institutions, including Students across Kogi State attended the one-day programme against sexual harassment.
