Stakeholders in Gombe State have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to assent to the Sexual Harassment Prohibition in Tertiary Education Institutions bill currently before him.
They made the appeal in Gombe on Tuesday while dialoguing on how to curb sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) as part of the activities marking this year’s edition of the annual “16 Days of Activism” programme.
Speaking during the event, Ishaku Adamu, Gombe State chairman of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), said the bill, when assented to, would help protect students from any form of sexual-based violence, which he said is on the increase.
Adamu said his association, which was a member of the anti-sexual harassment advocacy cluster, had the mandate of campaigning for the passage of the bill.
“Today we are here in Gombe to have a stakeholders’ meeting to discuss the issue of sexual violence, particularly around tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
“It means a lot because there are so many laws in the country talking about sexual harassment, be it at the state or national level.
“But there is no particular law that speaks directly to the issue on campuses and because of the prevalence of the issue, there is a need for that law and that is why the National Assembly has passed it,” he said.
Explaining further, Adamu, who is the coordinator of the meeting, said the bill specifically addressed the issue of sexual harassment on campus, which, according to him, was unique when compared with other existing laws.
He said sexual-based violence is on the increase and more worrisome is the fact that most perpetrators get away with their crimes without punishment.
“I appeal to Mr President as the father of the nation, to kindly support the future generation by assenting to this particular bill so that this issue will be addressed once and for all in our tertiary institutions in Nigeria,” he said.
Also speaking, USAID Local Government Manager of State2State Activity in Gombe State, Hajia Zariyatu Abubakar, said the call was coming at a time when sexual harassment cases were on the rise.
Abubakar said the bill was essential to the mental health of young people in tertiary institutions given the impact of sexual harassment on victims’ mental health.
According to her: “It (the law) should have come way back before now. It should have been in place for over 30 years. We are calling on the president to assent to the bill because the mental state of young people is at stake and sexual harassment has a way of affecting the victim for life. Having a law, an instrument that will protect students, is vital, and it will go a long way in curtailing the prevalence of sexual-based violence.”
