Sexual harassment rife in colleges

OUR country has since independence witnessed significant development in the educational sector, especially at higher and tertiary levels, with approximately 13 new universities established.

However, despite this major development, these educational facilities have turned into more of sex havens than learning institutions.

University and college female students, despite efforts by different stakeholders to enlighten them, are still vulnerable to sexual abuse and harassment.

Lecturers, staff members (security officers included) and other males are the main culprits.

Many a time there are reported incidents of male lecturers soliciting for sex from female students in exchange for a good mark or grade. This is not only a violation of the students’ rights but is also against professional ethics.

Male students use social media as a retributive weapon to get back at their girlfriends should their relationships collapse.

Videos of nude pictures, supposedly shared when the two parties were together, always find their way in the social media space, raising eyebrows on the quality of students being produced by our educational institutions.

These female students, despite their education, find it difficult to get justice from the university authorities for a number of reasons. Fear of failing or being failed by the lecturers being one of them.

However, the most important one is that the university authorities always side with lecturers, rendering it difficult for the female student to prove her case.

This is so because most universities in the country do not have substantive sexual harassment policies that comprehensively address the vice, and this leaves the female students in difficult situations.

The government and higher learning institutions should take appropriate measures to ensure female students are protected in learning institutions and teach them how to protect themselves from sexual predators.