Nigeria’s Parliament has just passed a bill that aims to prevent sexual harassment of students. President Bola Tinubu is expected to sign it into law soon.
This is the influence of the BBC documentary, ‘sex 4 grades’.
The anti-sexual harassment bill introduced in 2019, had failed to pass in both houses three years after the introduction of the Bill until BBC’s ‘sex 4 grades’ documentary was aired.
What this means is that Lecturers in Nigeria could face up to 14 years in Jail for harassing or engaging in any sexual relationship with students.
Ghana
When ‘sex 4 grades’ aired in Ghana, two lecturers of the University of Ghana were captured – Professor Ransford Gyampo and Dr Paul Butakor.
The university of Ghana suspended the two lecturers who were implicated, they were to serve six months and four months without pay.
Professor Ransford Gyampo of the University of Ghana was captured on camera telling his female ‘student’ that he would “kiss her violently” for the shyness to disappear in her eyes”
These two lecturers were captured in several compromising situation being inappropriate with their female students. But, “the evidence on record showed that the two alleged victims in the video — Zara and Abigail — were not members of the university,” the university’s committee wrote in their report.
In other words, if the under cover journalists had been members of the university the lecturers would have faced a higher charge.
The university however found “credible evidence that the conduct of Prof. Gyampoh and Dr Butakor was damaging and caused embarrassment to the university”
The committee further found Prof. Gyampoh’s remarks in the video, including the now infamous “Have you been violently kissed before?” as a breach of the university’s statute.
Both lecturers were thus referred to the disciplinary committee. But, they walked free.
Yet, the BBC interviewed a number of Professor Gyampo’s former students, who alleged that he had been sexually harassing them. One spoke on camera with a concealed identity alleging that Prof. Gyampo had sexually assaulted her.
The university of Ghana failed to investigate any of the allegations. To this day, there are reports of lecturers in Ghana deliberately marking students down for refusing to accept their sexual advances or lecturers giving students higher marks because they have a sexual relationship with those students.
Nigeria did not sleep on the BBC ‘sex 4 grades documentary. They have taken the issue of sexual harassment and assault serious to protect vulnerable students.
It is the hope that Ghana would look at this historic move and prepare a bill that would make it illegal for lecturers in Ghana to have a sexual relationship with their students.
If the university of Ghana failed to investigate all the allegations against Prof. Gyampo and Dr. Butakor to serve as a deterrent to other lecturers, then, the Parliament of Ghana can do that to protect other students, especially, female students from being coerced, or preyed on by perverted lecturers.
Nigeria has taken the lead, it’s time for Ghana to act now.
Source:www.247News.com
Watch BBC Sex 4 grades documentary below
