CHAPTER 30

• Jurisdiction: United States

CHAPTER 30

Curbing Sexual Harassment of Students in Nigerian Academia: Place and Role of Legal Policies

Caroline Joelle Nwabueze¹

Introduction

Women's rights are rights of equivalent worth to men's rights. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) addresses what is required for women's rights to approach equality with men's.² Article 5(a) specifically requires the modification of the "social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women." In Africa, some of the most serious violations of women's rights take place in the private sphere of the family. They are reinforced by traditional norms and cultural values.³

Sexual harassment in Nigeria is an example of a vice and crime that has lasted for decades. This chapter analyses the impact of legal policies combating sexual harassment on female academic groups in Nigeria. Several university lecturers have abused the fiduciary relationship between them and their female students to harass them sexually.

First, this chapter defines sexual harassment in the Nigerian cultural context. It then examines the phenomenon of sexual harassment within various institutions, specifically academia. Several cases are reviewed, including penalties and disciplinary sanctions against lecturers caught in the legal net. The chapter then discusses the impact of the #MeToo movement and other international organizations in bringing structural changes to Nigeria. An examination of the obligations of Nigeria under international law follows, including the legal reform protecting women's rights. The paper ends with recommendations for the adoption of anti-discrimination laws in view of the total eradication of sexual harassment within the country.

Background

Claims of sexual harassment have become a daily feature of the news in Nigeria. Nearly half of Nigeria's 200 million citizens are female, of which only half are literate. The youth literacy level for females is put at 65.33 percent.⁴

In the Northern part of Nigeria, females in institutions of learning often fear being kidnapped by terrorists or gangs. It's no longer news that two famous kidnappings were carried out in the North East region of Nigeria (Dapchi and Chibok), which saw the kidnapping of over 300 schoolgirls. Kidnappings are not limited to schoolgirls; mothers who are peasant farmers and female traders have become major targets too. An additional difficulty for Northern Nigerian girls is that underage marriage is a common feature in the North, as girls under eighteen are forced into marriages.

In contrast, women and girls in the South enjoy greater freedom than their counterparts in the North. Southern Nigeria includes the country's big cities, like Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Enugu, and Calabar, and the population is more urban and exposed to technology and Western values. The South is largely Christian.

Percentage of Young Women Able to Attend School

One issue prevalent in the country is that of physical insecurity for female students' safety. It is most felt in the Nigerian North. According to a 2017 UNICEF report, states in the North East and North West have female primary school net attendance rates of 47.7 percent and 47.3 percent, respectively, meaning more than half of the girls are not in school. Educational deprivation in Northern Nigeria is driven by various factors, including economic barriers and socio-cultural norms and practices that discourage formal education of girls. Twenty-nine percent and 35 percent of Muslim children in the North East and North West, respectively, receive Qur'anic education, which does not include basic skills such as literacy and numeracy. Such children are considered by the Nigerian government to be officially out of school.⁵

Insecurity notwithstanding, parents still send their female wards to school—from primary school to secondary school and up to the university/ college (tertiary) level. There has been an increase in general female participation in tertiary institutions of learning, especially in Nigeria's South. In 2015, the number of females from Imo state (South East Nigeria) admitted to tertiary institutions was 15,501 against 13,382 for males. The rate of women in institutions of learning in Nigeria is on the increase. There is, however, less access to education in the North, but it is far from the Western picture painted by foreign media, which states that women are poorly represented in acquiring an education.⁶ Despite insecurity in the North, you still have girls (who are most vulnerable) going to school.

Notwithstanding the above, many Nigerian women are highly educated. They are also well positioned in institutions of learning and in the corporate world. All these realities are happening amid incidents of discrimination and sexual harassment. A woman who avoids child marriage and manages to pursue a university degree may then be sexually harassed in the university context.

Perception of Sexual Harassment in Nigeria

Sexual harassment is widespread in Nigeria. The menace of sexual harassment is yet to be clearly understood by some sectors of Nigerian society. Some carry out acts without realizing they are violating the woman. Some women do not recognize when they are being sexually harassed, save for the now-growing acts of rape and sexual assault. Those who can identify when they've been sexually harassed are afraid to speak up for fear of their safety, stigma, and other social consequences that come with being a victim of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment has sadly been institutionalized in Nigeria, hence its pervasive nature. In various institutions, victims of sexual harassment are treated with disdain and disbelief and are sometimes threatened.

Sexual Quid Pro Quo in Nigerian Universities

A Nigerian newspaper reported the following dramatic statistic:

"In one survey of female graduates in Nigeria's higher institutions, at least 69.8 per cent said their lecturers and male classmates had sexually harassed them."⁷

The practice concerns lecturers toward students in their relations and relates to sexual advances in return for good grades.

Abuse of power plays a fundamental role in sexual harassment.⁸ Lecturers are in a position of authority and the cornerstone in the grading system. In general, Nigeria academia is not equipped with the anonymous grading software for exams. In the absence of anonymity, the lecturer can easily track his or her prey and harm at will.⁹ Grading without complete anonymity enables promotion at will when requested sexual favors have been obtained. This lust is fueled by cultural factors in some regions where the man is seen as the head or chief, and denial to sexual advances appears disrespectful or an open challenge.¹⁰

Sexual harassment as experienced by students frequently refers to fear and being hemmed in on every side by lecturers whose academic position can make refusal harmful.¹¹ In this context, the harassment faced by the student could manifest in threats to lose an academic benefit such as university admission. The University of Lagos for example has suspended a lecturer who solicited sex from an admission seeker.¹² The student in such case feels obliged to comply. Otherwise, she faces the risk of losing her admission. Protesting is difficult as the lecturer, an authority in position to tarnish or replenish the academic career of the student receiving the sexual advances, initiates the behavior. Unfortunately, students rarely denunciate this calamity and are powerlessly open to sexual advances.

The fear of retaliation is a fundamental deterrent to reporting. Also, collegiality protection could indefinitely harm the student's academics.¹³ Remi Sonaiya, a retired Nigerian university professor, said:

Unfortunately, many universities don't have strong deterrence or punishment for abusers. Students should be encouraged to speak out when such things happen. There must be at least someone in the institution who can be trusted and confided in. Justice must be done.¹⁴

Nationwide Campaign and #MeToo Movement

Fostering gender equality under law in Nigeria has been the fruit of NGO actions and international society pressure. There are organized movements in Nigeria to make structural changes to empower survivors of sexual assault. #MeToo is an example of a movement organized and structured in several regions. In Nigeria, there are few existing facilities to support victims of sexual harassment or sexual assault referral centers like Justice for All ( J4A) programs.¹⁵ Such facilities offer survivors a safe place where he/she can find protection and speak about the abuse. In addition, the use of international campaigns with global mobilization can captivate international attention on stereotypical practices hindering women's empowerment and awaken governments to the need for change.

Globalization includes internationalization, NGO activism, international cooperation, international openness, etc. Arjun Appadurai¹⁶ defines globalization as the process by which global phenomena such as the #MeToo movement take a plethora of forms and have different impacts depending on local cultures.¹⁷ Such globalization has led to a greater integration of women's rights in society. An international perspective helps to expose national interests and local sexual practices as abusive and breaks the stranglehold these national interests and social customs have used to oppress women in their local environments.

The movement in Nigeria has exploded in a global discussion about sexual harassment.¹⁸ In a social context where women suffer in silence, #MeToo is a platform for expression where women share their stories.¹⁹ The movement has even reached the Muslim-majority Northern Nigeria.²⁰ Sometimes because...