A Human Rights Activist, Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, has challenged the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other relevant academic unions to rise up and fight the rising cases of sexual harassment in Nigerian Universities in the country.

She advised that if ASUU and other relevant academic unions in tertiary institutions are reluctant in standing against this menace, women lecturers should also form their academic unions to fight the sexual harassment and gender-based violence which she added is a “disgrace” to higher institutions of learning.

Dr Akiyode-Afolabi, who is the Founder Director of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, stated this in an interview at the end of a one-day training support for lecturers and administrators on protection of girls in tertiary institution in Bauchi State.

The training which held at Bagari Hotels and Suites, Bauchi, had lecturers from the Bauchi State University, Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic Bauchi and the Bauchi State College of Agriculture, as participants.

“I think ASUU needs to sit up in this matter, the body language of ASUU is not showing that they are ready to tackle this issue head-on. If ASUU does not think it is important to discuss this matter because they see it as a women matter, then women in the higher institutions should start their own Academic Staff Unions.”

She added that a lot of students had to end their schools because they could not confront the monster of sexual harassment while some have lost their self-confidence. Some of them are ashamed of themselves.

“I’ve had a meeting where I was talking to students and a particular student was just weeping because at a point in time, she had to give into the pressure of the lecturer, and while we were talking, she felt so bad that she could not stand for her right.

“I don’t blame the victims because at times, they are in compromising situations, so they have to do what they have to do. It is the system that should support the victims to be able to speak out when they are in trouble,” she advised.

She said that although her organization doesn’t have a data yet on the statistics of sexual harassment cases in higher institutions, that they are being supported to come with data.

“But from the feelers, that we are getting, sexual harassment in campuses is really endemic. It’s a big problem in the institutions and the students are really helpless in terms of addressing it. We must also acknowledge that within the last one year, there has been a lot of development around this issue because institutions have started taking action.

“We don’t want to wait until we have a situation like the UNILAG situation before they take steps. And that’s why we are coming around different schools and we are talking to them about the need for them to address the issue of sexual harassment and gender based violence that has eaten so deep into the system, that is making the students not to trust the system, that is also causing some form of disgrace for the higher institutions of learning in this country,” she stated.

She said that for the problems of sexual harassment and gender-based violence to be addressed, a lot of awareness needs to be created in the school system pointing out that “the students must get their voice. They must speak above the whisper, they must be bold enough to speak about it.”