63% female students sexually harassed in 12 universities – Report

The Alliances for Africa (AFA) and the Committee of Gender Directors in Nigerian Universities (CGDNU) has said 63 per cent of female students across 12 universities reported experiencing sexual harassment in the institutions.

The Executive Director of AFA, Iheoma Obibi, said this on Sunday in Abuja at a joint briefing on ‘Campus Climate Survey Report on Sexual Harassment in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions: A Call for Immediate Action’.

Briefs on the report, scheduled to be launched today in Abuja, were also shared by the Director Centre of Gender and Women Studies, University of Jos, Prof. Irene Agunloye; Director Centre of Gender and Women Studies, Delta State University, Abraka, Prof. Ufuoma Awhefeada; Leader of Gender Research Group, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Ifeyinwa Achike; and Director Centre of Gender Studies, Bayero University Kano, Dr Safiya Ahmad Nuhu.

They said though Nigerian universities are expected to be sanctuaries of knowledge, personal growth, and professional development, recent findings expose a grim reality where sexual harassment thrived unchecked, eroding trust in our educational institutions.

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The 12 universities where 3,528 respondents were interviewed are Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State; University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State; Kaduna State University, Kaduna State; Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State; Nasarawa State University, Nasarawa State; and University of Jos, Plateau State.

Others are Bayero University, Kano, Kano State; Imo State University, Owerri, Imo State; Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam, Anambra State; University of Lagos, Lagos State; University of Ibadan, Oyo State; and University of Abuja, FCT.

The coalition demanded that universities adopt and strictly enforce zero-tolerance policies against sexual harassment, with severe penalties for violators.