Prof. Charles Igwe, the Vice-Chancellor (VC), University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), says the institution has zero tolerance for any form of sexual harassment and other social vices.
Igwe said this in Nsukka on Wednesday at the university’s first International Conference on Gender and Sexual Harassment, organised by the Campus-Campaign Against Sexual Harassment (C-CASH) of the institution.
The programme was in collaboration with UNN Gender and Development Policy Centre (GDPC) and the Centre for Public Health (CPH) with the theme “Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Institution: Gender Concerns and Transdisciplinary Approach in the SDGs Era.”
The VC, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Prof. Pat Okpoko, said the university would not relent in maintaining gender equality as well as a safe learning environment devoid of sexual harassment.
“Sexual harassment is a cankerworm that everyone should join hands to eliminate.
“UNN under my administration has zero tolerance for any form of sexual harassment on any student or staff.
“We have gender-friendly centres in the university that handle reports on sexual harassment issues and other societal ills; the centres also give counselling.
“I encourage students and staff to take advantage of the centres and report any staff or student who harass them sexually, especially a lecturer who demands sex for exam marks,” he said.
Igwe warned students against deliberately seducing their lecturers or offering sex to them in exchange for marks.
“The university will not hesitate to punish any student found guilty of deliberately trying to seduce or offer sex for marks to lecturers,” he said.
Speaking, Prof. Anthonia Achike, the Director of GDPC, said that the aim of the conference was to fashion out ways to reduce sexual harassment in tertiary institutions in the country.
Achike said the conference was using trans-disciplinary methodology in which opinions from different areas, and practices were used to solve “this act of inhumanity.”
The director attributed low reporting of sexual harassment cases by victims to fear of victimisation, stigmatisation as well as doubt of getting redress promptly.
“The above-mentioned reasons are responsible for underreporting of sexual harassment cases by victims because they believe that some who reported their own didn’t get justice as many perpetrators were not punished,” she said.
Achike expressed appreciation to the UNN Senate Council that recently approved a Sexual Harassment Policy, which would make it easy to punish staff or students found guilty of sexual harassment.
-Vanguard
