Nigeria: The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) has called for a review of laws prohibiting sexual harassment at workplaces, saying the menace has persisted as perpetrators have been escaping justice over the years.
The Project Officer and Special Assistant to the Chairman, ICPC, Bunmi Olugasa, said this in Abuja when HEIR Women Hub, which is a woman and girls-based NGO (Non-Governmental Organization), visited the commission as part of its measures to control the menace in the bud.
Olugasa highlighted that the ICPC act restricts the usage of the office for sexual aggrandizement, describing that this stays an offence punishable before the law and abuse not only the victim but also the office which the person handles.
The ICPC act stated that anybody who uses his office to grant any type of corrupt advantage for his benefit is culpable of an offence.
Earlier also, Esther Akor, Assistant Director, Public Enlightenment and Mass Mobilisation Department, National Orientation Agency, stated that victimization is a primary result of Sexual Harassment, which the Human Resource department in organizations should manage, stating risks involved in speaking out.
Several women have lost their jobs in private organizations, as they spoke out, while many others face other challenges in the public sector.
This is why enforcers must be put in place to seek redress in such cases.
She lamented that there are no existing data on workplace sexual harassment, unlike current data on Sexual and Based Violence (SGBV), which is also widely issued.
“Out of a thousand survey respondents and 60 face to face, what we find more difficult is to recite their stories as most of them lost their jobs during the process,” she stated.
“It became essential to take this data and not just leave them at that,” she added.
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