Skip to main content

We can now tackle Sexual Harassment on Campus, says University Students

 Some University Students say they can now tackle the menace of sexual harassment on campus, following a symposium on the prevention of campus sexual violence in tertiary institution across the country


The symposium was organised by a Non- Governmental Organisation (NGO) Women At Risk International Foundation (WARIF) on Saturday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the symposium was initiated by the European Union and United  Nations, with the theme: “Spotlight Initiative to Eliminate Violence Against Women and Men.

Miss Michel Williams, a 400 Level, Biochemistry Student of Nile University, Abuja, said that with the setting up of response team in the universities, students could now heave a sigh of relief

She said that with a toll free line where sexual harassment could be reported pronto, tackling the menace of sexual harassment had now been made easy on campus.

“Now I know that as a student, when you are being confronted by a lecturer asking for sex for grade, you can now find someone to talk to

That is why they have created the response team in institutions to be able to locate one of them and report,” she said.

She said that although she had never experienced sexual harassment,  but stories of such menace abound on campuses and in the media.

“It is not a good thing to be sexually harassed and there has to be a way to stop it because I know that it affects victims both psychologically and physically,” she said.

Miss Favour Amarachukwu, a100 Level Medical Laboratory Student, UniAbuja, said that with the symposium, she was equipped with a new revelation on how to tackle the menace.

Today, I got a new revelation on  how to stop gender based violence and sexual abuses on campus and how we can handle it as students and victims.

“Now we have a hotline where we can call freely and you can be kept anonymous in case you are scared of your identity being revealed.

“So if I fall victim of that with the exposure I have gotten, it will be easier for me to open up now that I have gotten this idea,” she said.

Mr Felix Ayeyemi, a 300 Level, Computer Student, UniAbuja, said though he had not been sexually harassed but heard stories in the media relating to sexual harassment.

Ayeyemi said with this training and the free toll line dedicated for sexual harassment, students would now have the courage to call the response team.

He said that, students in collaboration with other partners would keep fighting to curtail the menace of sexual harassment on campus

Damilola Adebisi, the Lead Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, WARIF, said that the symposium was to increase awareness and engage students on campus prevention of gender violence and sexual harassment.

Adebisi said that students now knew that they could speak out and get help, adding that the bottom line was to tackle the culture of silence and assured them that there was a place they could get help.

This, according to him, is by speaking out and talking about their issues and that they should not be scared

We want them to speak out on rape and other gender violence as much as possible and the students are happy that they can get help even with the setting up of the response team on campuses,” he said.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NASU, SSANU begin protest in UniAbuja, Lokoja Varsity

Members of Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) of University of Abuja and Federal University, Lokoja, on Tuesday commenced a three-day protest The protest was due to the Federal Government failure to implement the agreements reached with the National body of the unions in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on October 18, last year. Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), University of Abuja, Federal University Lokoja (FUL), Kogi State, on Tuesday, embarked on a peaceful protest, to herald the three-day warning strike notice it issued the Federal Government (FG). As early as 8 am, the union members carried postcard and took over the gates and other areas of the Adankolo campus of the institution Addressing newsmen at the gate of the institution after the peaceful protest, Chairman, SSANU/Joint Action Committee, of Federal University, Lokoja, Mr Uche Onyedi, threatened complete shutdown...
Post a Comment
Read more

JAMB opens Portal for 2020/2021 Admission

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, (JAMB) has reopened portal for the 2020/2021 admissions. The board said opening the portal gives institutions access to upload names of shortlisted applicants for the 2020/2021 admissions. The spokesperson for JAMB, Fabian Benjamin, confirmed this in a telephone interview on Wednesday with the news corespondent He quoted the Registrar of JAMB, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, as saying that admission processes must go through the Central Admission Processing System for approval . “Of course, long ago. Any institution, not just public that wants to is already uploading,” Oloyede was quoted as saying. Earlier, JAMB notified the public not to fall victim to fraudsters and rumour mongers. The board who gave the opinion in a weekly bulletin of the Office of the Registrar said that it has yet to begin the sale of the 2021 Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examination forms. JAMB reiterates that it has not begun the sale of its 2021 UTME and Direct Entry app...
Post a Comment
Read more

[BREAKING]: Schools Resumes January 18 - Education Minister, Adamu

The Federal Government has given the nod for schools to resume on January 18 after reaching consensus with Governors, Commissioners and other stakeholders. The consensus was reached at a meeting between the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu and Commissioners of Education in Abuja. The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Arc. Sonny Echono, who confirmed this to news correspondent, said: "We have had extensive discussions with state governors, proprietors of schools, labour /staff unions and students'reprisetatives. And the consensus is that we should reopen all schools. "But the reopening of schools will be in compliance with COVID-19 protocols, especially strict adherence to non-pharmaceutical procedures." Details shortly...
Post a Comment
Read more