The HEIR Women Development, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and Social Enterprise, has urged relevant authorities and organizations to create workable policies to eradicate sexual harassment at workplaces.
This formed the core of discussions at the Twitter Spaces and Instagram live sessions convened by the organization to mark the 2022 International Women’s Day (IWD) with the theme: ‘Breaking the Bias- Against Sexual Harassment at workplaces.’
- X-raying gender inequality, discrimination amongst Nigerian women
- ‘Women should harness their talents for development’
The Executive Director of HEIR Women Development, Añuli Aniebo Ola-Olaniyi, said the research results show that sexual harassment is prevalent at workplaces and rape, violence such as online stalking, unwanted advance and offensive compliments are predominant forms of sexual harassment.
“Out of 1000 online respondents and 60 face to face interviews, we found out that 15 percent of the women sexually harassed were raped at their workplaces while 51 percent have been sexually harassed at their organizations in FCT,” she said.
In her remarks, the Programme Officer, Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA) Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Response Team, Munachi Ike, noted that the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act is binding on all organizations, stressing the need for Nigerians to know and understand that their rights are protected.
She said, “The Violence Against Persons Prohibition Acts mentioned 26 acts that can be punished under the law. Agencies like NAPTIP help enforce such acts in Nigeria; they ensure that victims get justice. People need to be sensitized about these laws.
“There are policies against sexual assault in Nigeria but needs to be reviewed as there is not enough punishment spelled out for defaulters.”
Also, Head of Gender at the African Union (AU) and host of Gender Agenda TV show in AIT, Ms Adaora Onyechere, who was a guest at the online engagement said, “We need actionable policies with deliberate approach to implementing them.”
She suggested that there should be organizational review by the Corporate Affairs Commission such that if an organization is found guilty of sexual harassment, punitive actions should be enforced against that organization, like de-listing and de-licensing such an organization from the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission. She added that timeline should be attached to the administering these penalties.
On his part, the Executive Director, Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Tunde Ademefun, expressed concerns that data from the survey shows 55 percent of respondents from the private sector and 26 percent in the public sector, and 19 percent are from the development sector as victims of sexual harassment.
Meanwhile, a Development Research Expert, Isaac Idoko, said that family has great roles in bringing up children in safe environments, stressing that most perpetrators have been brought out in environments that support such or do nothing about such menace.
He added that sensitization and awareness is critical for everyone to understand what sexual harassment is as many employees and employers need to understand the implications and impact of this crime.
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