One of the most significant and most traumatic factors that affect girls and young women disproportionally is undoubtedly sexual assault. But considering the environment and social impact of Nigeria, there is minimal information and facts regarding the subject.
Statistics about Sexual Harassment in Nigeria
The Pan African Medical Journal study shows the following patterns and stats about the sexual assault in Nigeria.
- 6.1 percent of males were recorded with the sexual assault cases
- 93.9 percent of females are usually the victims of sexual assault which is clearly a majority
- Most of the recorded cases occurred in the day
- Most of the cases were recorded in the people with the age of fewer than 20 years and unmarried
- 52 percent of the assailants were found to be known to victims
- 48.5 percent of the cases happened at assailants’ office or house
- The physical force was recorded in 29.6 percent of the cases and 31.1 percent of cases recorded with violence
All of these stats and patterns are acquired by studying the 75 percent of the total cases.
Most Common Sexual Diseases in Nigeria
According to the scientific studies and researches, there are many STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) in Nigeria, but the most common of them all are listed below:
- Gonorrhea
- Chlamydia
- Trichomoniasis
- Syphilis
- HIV
- Herpes
Nigerian Senate Passes Sexual Harassment Bill
Due to the above figure and facts and the increasing rate of STDs in Nigeria, the Nigerian senate has passed the sexual harassment bill to uphold the basic ethical structures, specifically in high schools and universities, because there were many lecturers found in the universities committing sexual harassment.
Now because of the newly passed bill, any person committing sexual harassment crime will be sent to jail for at least two years.
Ahmad Lawan, the senate president, said that the sexual harassment bill is landmark legislation because we want to protect and save the daughters of our nation from the predators. He added that our tertiary institutions must be safe and sound to provide the students with a protective environment, and this bill will ensure it.
There is also the other side of the picture where the students were found accusing teachers of sexual harassment: essentially blackmailing to get better grades. The bill also deals with such students by making sure that in such cases, the students will be suspended.
The bill was first introduced in 2016, but the lawmakers revisited it due to the increasing cases of sexual misconduct in 2018.
After the success of the sexual harassment legislation, the education authorities and universities announced that they would work and cooperate with the government. They said that to ensure the implementation of the law, they will deal with every case by a thorough investigation.
Nigerian students, especially girls, feel very hopeful because it will make things very easy to pursue their careers and to reach their goals.
References:
https://www.kake.com/story/42346538/nigerian-senate-passes-sexual-harassment-bill
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/01/africa/nigeria-senate-investigates-harassment/index.html
https://www.wral.com/nigerian-senate-passes-sexual-harassment-bill/19179900/