By Adeyinka Adeniran
News Editor’s across Nigeria has called on Nigerians to collectively work together to end the menace of sexual harassment in tertiary institutions across the country.
The News editor made the call during a day workshop, organized by Alliances for Africa (AfA) and Co-Impact towards addressing sexual harassment in Nigerian tertiary Institutions, noted that sexual harassment is prevalent in Nigerian tertiary institutions and has immediate and long-term effects on the victims, survivors, students, staff and the institution at large.
The editors wgo were gathered from various media houses met for an interactive consultation to discuss the pervasiveness of this issue, existing policies, tools, and mechanisms for reporting it, and the complexity of its accountability process.
They also identified the various challenges that reporters encounter in gathering and reporting incidents of sexual harassment in tertiary institutions.
The editors noted that there is an urgent need to set up a committee within each institution to validate the suitability of the heads of gender units of the schools for the position of the Editors and media head, ensuring that they have relevant certifications that attest to their expertise before appointment.
It was agreed at the meeting that there must be strong collaborations with media houses to properly address cases of sexual harassment and further collaboration with one another.
The editors also said that the media must progressively work hand-in-gloves with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and share information and reports of sexual harassment in tertiary institutions.
The media experts also called for active participation of men who champion women’s rights (#HeforShe) in sexual harassment advocacy and promote women’s leadership in tertiary institutions.
