SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE NIGERIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS: SUGGESTED POLICY SOLUTIONS

Abstract

Sexual harassment is a pervasive problem which is difficult to pin down because of its different characteristics. It has increasingly become noticeable on university campuses in Nigeria with a burgeoning concentration of young male and female students. It has also spread to involve lecturers and non-academic employees of the universities as well. The advent of cultism on university campuses has also exacerbated sexual harassment in Nigeria. Cultists inflict rapes and assaults with a disturbing frequency. Sexual harassment often has adverse effects on the victim’s performance at work or school. Both the quantity and the quality of work may suffer, as well as the employees or student’s morale, attendance, and ability to work with others. The paper conceptualizes sexual harassment and identifies its causes, consequences, legal aspects, and prevalence in Nigerian universities. It also posits policy solutions to tackle the problem of sexual harassment in Nigerian universities and the society at large.