The minister of women affairs and social development, Mrs. Pauline Tallen has said that no fewer than 3, 600 rape cases were recorded across the country during the just relaxed lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Tallen, who disclosed this when she visited the deputy senate president, Mr. Ovie Omo-Agege in Abuja, commended him for sponsoring the Sexual Harassment Bill in the upper legislative chamber.
“Reports from the commissioners for women affairs across the country revealed that during the COVID-19 induced lockdown, each state recorded not less than 100 cases of rape,” she said.
The minister, who condemned the upsurge in rape cases nationwide, applauded the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) for declaring a state of emergency on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.
She, however, called for more legislation to protect the girl-child and women in the country.
In his remarks, Omo-Agege said the approval of the sexual harassment bill by the senate is in furtherance of its legislative agenda, which seeks the protection of women’s rights.
When signed into law, he said the bill “will not only send a strong signal to those who may want to abuse women and ensure that students are not at the mercy of sexual predators.
“For most of us who went through higher institutions, we know what happened. It is just that some would rather see it as business as usual.
“But having convinced my colleagues that this shouldn’t be business as usual and we needed to arrest the situation, we had to rise above our cultural, ethnic and religious differences to be able to make the case that an attack of this nature on our daughters, sisters, wives in Warri is not any different from an attack in Sokoto, Maiduguri or anywhere.
“And we needed to move past that culture of lecturers who see our young women as perquisites of their offices. And we thought we should put a stop to that.
“We are also in support of strengthening our anti-rape laws both under the criminal code and penal code. We will also make it in such a way that there will be better appetite for enforcement of the laws, once we create the enabling environment that encourages the prosecutors to prosecute it, the better for us.”
On affirmative action, he said the senate would examine what obtains in other jurisdictions and make informed decisions.
The Bill to Prevent, Prohibit and Redress Sexual Harassment of Students in Tertiary Educational Institutions, 2020, which was passed by the senate at its sitting on July 7, 2020, prohibits sexual harassment of students in tertiary institutions and prescribes jail term ranging from two to 14 years for various degrees of offences.
Co-sponsored by 106 lawmakers, the proposed legislation also prescribes N5 million fine for offenders.
When signed into law, any educator who whistles or winks at a student or makes sexually complimentary or uncomplimentary remarks about a student’s physique would be liable to two years imprisonment or a fine of N1 million, if found guilty.
It would be recalled that the United Nations Women had recently commended Nigeria on the approval of the bill by the Senate.
A letter dated July 7, 2020, signed by the UN Women Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Comfort Lamptey and addressed to the deputy president of the senate noted stated that “UN Women stands ready to support federal and state level efforts to implement this important legislation in the period ahead, working closely with women’s constituencies, students, educational institutions and other relevant stakeholders.”
