THE Senate has on Tuesday, passed a bill that seeks to stop the sexual abuse of female students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
The Bill which has been brought before the Senate three times before eventually approved today, is sequeled to the report of the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters that was presented by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, Chairman, All Progressives Congress, APC, Ekiti Central.
The bill has been titled: “A Bill for an Act to Prevent, Prohibit and Redress Sexual Harassment of Students in Tertiary Educational Institutions and for other matters connected therewith 2019″. It was duly sponsored by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo -Agege, APC, Delta Central, and co-sponsored by 105 other Senators.
The bill proposes up to 14 years jail term, with a minimum of 5 years, without an option of fine for any educator who commits sexual offences in tertiary institutions.
According to the Bill, sexual offences includes sexual intercourse with a student or the demands for sex from a student or a prospective student or intimidating or creating a hostile or offensive environment for the student by soliciting for sex or making sexual advances.
Also included in the Bill, are other forms of sexual harassment identified as grabbing, hugging, kissing, rubbing, stroking, touching, pinching the breasts or hair or lips or hips or buttocks or any other sensual part of the body of a student; or sending by hand or courier or electronic or any other means naked or sexually explicit pictures or videos or sex related objects to a student, and whistling or winking at a student or screaming, exclaiming, joking or making sexually complimentary or uncomplimentary remarks about a student’s physique or stalking a student.
