The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, has promised to intensify action in fighting sexual harassment in tertiary institutions.
Dr. Aliyu, who made the pledge recently while receiving a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Gender Mobile Initiative in the Commission, emphasized the need for continuous partnership in eradicating sexual harassment in tertiary institutions in order to move the educational system forward.
He expressed displeasure that students were abused by lecturers whom they looked up to for guidance and mentoring.
“We are going to work within the confines of the law and also in accordance with the national best practices to ensure that we tackle sexual harassment in tertiary institutions”.
The ICPC boss further disclosed that the Commission had planned to meet with top members of the academia to share ideas on how to bring an end to sexual harassment.
He said that he took particular interest in sexual harassment because it is largely focused on the youths and went further to condemn the level of stigma associated with the harassment which, he said, made most victims unwilling to pursue justice.
Dr Aliyu harped on the role of Gender Mobile Initiative and other critical stakeholders in eradicating sexual harassment saying that tackling the menace has to be a collective effort.
Earlier in her remarks, the Executive Director of Gender Mobile Initiative, Ms Omowumi Ogunrotimi, stated that the organisation was established to advance gender equality with a view to eliminating gender-based violence (GBV) in Nigeria adding that currently, they were partnering with over 100 tertiary institutions in the country to develop a policy aimed at prohibiting sexual harassment.
Ogunrotimi said that the organisation has designed an App called “Campus Pal” which was launched in 2021 and it has provided students with safe space, learning centre and open forum where victims of sexual harassment report such cases.
She went further to state that in the last 5 years, Gender Mobile Initiative has been actively involved and has supported over fifty (50) higher education institutions to strengthen their internal mechanisms in sexual harassment prevention through innovative policies, preventative education, bystander intervention and creative integration of technology.
It would be recalled that ICPC had co-created and validated a Model Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy with the NGO and education stakeholders and was approved by the Ministry of Education for further circulation within the higher education system.