A gender based group is calling on President Bola Tinubu to grant presidential assent to the Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Institutions Prohibition Bill to address the prevailing sexual and gender-based violence against students in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria.
The group says the urgency of the moment calls for collaboration, dialogue, and swift action to protect the rights of students especially female students.
Nigeria tertiary institutions have become a hotbed for sexual harassment which has also led to the rise of various initiatives deployed by stakeholders to combat the scourge.
As part of efforts to curtail the trend, both houses of the National Assembly signed the Sexual Harassment Prohibition in Tertiary Education Institutions Bill and sent to the President for assent.
The bill seeks to prevent, prohibit and redress the sexual harassment of students in tertiary educational institutions.
It also Criminalizes the failure of administrative heads of tertiary institutions to address complaints of sexual harassment within a specified period.
As Nigerians await the bill to become a law, this group calls on the President to assent to the bill to ensure that tertiary institutions do not become a a hub of sexual harassment.
Beyond granting Presidential assent to the bill, they also emphasise the importance of its implementation to ensure it does not suffer the fate of many other policies that are poorly implemented.
As Nigeria joins the world to commemorate the 16 days of activism, they say immediate action from the president will mark a milestone in the fight against sexual harassment in the country.
