Following the increase in the rate of sexual harassment in Ogun State, the state government has collaborated with a non-governmental organization, Gender Mobile Initiative, to tackle the menace in tertiary institutions.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Abayomi Arigbabu made this known during a stakeholders meeting with management of the ministry and heads of tertiary institutions held at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
The meeting according to him focused on the state-level adoption of the Model Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy in Tertiary Institutions in Ogun State.
Arigbabu stated that it is intensifying efforts towards improving a system of effective response and accountability in campuses across Nigeria.
The Commissioner commended the Federal Government for considering Ogun as a pioneer state for the step-down of the policy, saying sexual harassment poses a great threat to the future of learners and urged the stakeholders to work together to discover the causes and develop an effective policy for the prevention of the menace.
” It is imperative for heads of institutions and other relevant stakeholders to prioritise the fight against sexual harassment because if it is not curbed, it can lead to psychological problems and sudden death”, he said.
Speaking, Executive Director of Gender Mobile Initiative, Omowunmi Ogunrotimi stated that research conducted in 2018 revealed that over 70 percent of undergraduates had experienced sexual harassment, appealing to the heads of institutions to rise against it before it gets out of hand.
Remarking, Registrar, Ogun State Polytechnic of Health and Allied Sciences, Ilese-Ijebu, Mrs Abimbola Oyefesobi and the Dean of Student Affairs, Covenant University, Ota, Mrs. Shola Coker enjoined victims of sexual harassment to speak out, adding that a lot of sensitisation programme should be carried out to control and prevent the case.
Ogun govt partners group to tackle sexual harassment in tertiary institutions
