Laws that protect women from sexual harassment

Continued from last week

Sexual harassment refers to any unwelcome and inappropriate sexual remarks or physical advances in a workplace, social situation or professional environment.  It is an unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature.

It is, however, a fact that many sexual utterances considered as jokes by many fall under acts that are considered as sexual harassment under the law and many engage in sexual harassment while expecting the victims to enjoy their crudeness and take it as a joke.

Though many women are timid to complain so that they will not be labelled and given unsavoury names, many of them find some jokes which have been categorised as sexual harassment, to be embarrassing, humiliating and intimidating. They keep quiet because they have been groomed to keep quiet about such things.

What are the laws available for protection of Nigerian women against sexual harassment? There are indeed various legislations; we have the protection under CEDAW, Sexual Harassment Bill, protection under the African Charter, protection under national laws, the legal system itself, the Constitution, Child’s Rights Act 2003, Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 (VAPPA), Discriminatory laws, Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill  and the Sexual Offences Act Bill 2013, amongst others.

Protection under CEDAW focuses on a change in the traditional role of men and women in the society and family to achieve full equality as well as eliminate prejudices and customary practices which are based on the idea that women are inferior. It also targets cultural practices that define the public domain as men’s sphere and domestic field as women’s domain.

In September 2000, Nigeria signed the Optional Protocol of CEDAW which gives individuals and groups the right to complain to the committee if the government fails in its obligation to implement the policies of the convention and ratified it on November 22, 2004. This stimulates governments to implement CEDAW to avoid complaints being made against them and encourages them to remedy violations by amending their legislation, ending discriminatory practices and implementing affirmative action measures.

Many efforts went into ensuring that CEDAW fulfills the intention for which it was ratified especially in terms of not only using laws and policies to eliminate discrimination, but by tackling ingrained biases  found in tradition, customs, religion, illiteracy and poverty. But in spite of the efforts, CEDAW proved inadequate to protect women’s rights in Nigeria because it has not been domesticated and based on the provisions of law in Section 12 of the Constitution, treaties that have been signed and ratified will not have any effect until a corresponding law is made by the National Assembly. Also, there were arguments that the peculiarity of the African society makes CEDAW insufficient to protect African women against discrimination because it was founded on Western values that is far from the reality of rural African women.

In furtherance of the fight against sexual harassment in the Nigerian society, the National Assembly passed a Sexual Harassment Bill which seeks to check incidences of sexual harassment and protect students from sexual harassment in institutions. The Bill defines sexual harassment and prescribes a jail term for offenders for different offences ranging from two years up to 14 years and excludes mutual consent as a defence. Further, it put into consideration the peculiarity of the Nigerian society and eradicated the requirement to prove intent on the part of the accused. This Bill, the Sexual Harassment Bill, 2019, though better equipped for the job, still lacks scope because it focuses only on female students in tertiary institutions.

Another international instrument ratified by Nigeria is the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (the Charter) which was enacted in 1981 to protect the rights of people in Africa including women. It was however also found to be inadequate in addressing in detail the various discriminatory issues African women encounter in their daily lives such as being victims of harmful cultural and widowhood practices. It failed to address the problems of inequity in laws on property and customs in relation to inheritance and succession.

Section 42 of the Constitution is also another instrument that prohibits discrimination against a Nigerian citizen based on sex and other characteristics listed. It provides protection for any citizen of Nigeria from being subjected to restrictions by any law in force or by any government action. It goes further to prohibit privileges or advantages from being given to a Nigerian citizen by any law in force or executive or administrative action by reason of the person’s sex. Women have used this section of the Constitution to challenge discriminatory practices against them.

The Sexual Offences Act Bill 2013 is another instrument. It was introduced to make provisions on sexual offences, prevention and protection of all persons from harm and unlawful sexual acts. The bill was described as one that represents the much-needed reform in criminal law in Nigeria which was expected to enhance the rights of women, children and vulnerable persons who are victims of crimes. The bill has been passed by the National Assembly, but it was not been signed into law.

The most current instrument which has also been domesticated in some states of the federation and has more scope to fight all forms of abuse and violence against women is the Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 (VAPPA). VAPPA was passed into law to eliminate all forms of violence both in public and private life and covers most forms of violence against women.

It caters for issues like physical, psychological, sexual and socio-economic violence and criminalises practices such as FGM, domestic violence, abandonment, emotional, verbal and economic abuse. Further, this Act expanded the meaning of rape to include not only the use of sexual organs in penetrating the female vagina but has included the use of objects in penetrating the vagina, anus or mouth of another person without consent or with forced consent.

The legislations are wide but have they been able to stewm the tide in sexual harassment and violence against women. Can they even be said to be the appropriate solutions to gender inequality against women in Nigeria? While advocacy continues on having a solid and holistic legal framework for the protection of women as well as promote equality, the existing laws can adequately be used to protect women’s rights in Nigeria.

But it is also a fact that in spite of legislation for women protection, the menace continues to rise to alarming rates in Nigeria; inequality and gender-based discriminatory practices against women persist basically due to ingrained religious and cultural beliefs and practices as well as prevailing unwritten traditional codes. To really address gender inequality, sexual assault and violence against women in Nigeria, the first step may be more of education and sensitization as laws have failed to change normative culture and it has ended discriminatory practices or the support given to perpetrators in the society.

Further, all the ingrained beliefs about the superiority of men over women and the perceived gender roles needs to be addressed in the Nigerian society through non-policy measures. There should be a catch them young programme that will teach children that social norms and gender stereotypes affect their decisions and lifestyle choices and will affect development of the individual and family negatively. A comprehensive curriculum should be designed to remove gender stereotypes from educational materials and teach children that their life and career choices are not dependent on their gender.

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