The Independent Corrupt Prac­tices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) says sexual harassment is corrupt practice that attracts imprisonment term of not less than seven years.

Secretary to the commission, Clifford Oparaodu, gave the warn­ing at a one-day sensitisation workshop on Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Institutions, in Abuja, on Thursday.

Oparaodu said that ICPC re­garded sexual harassment as a corrupt practice, hence there was a need for victims to know their rights and how to seek justice.

He expressed concern that sexual gratification had become a form of “illegal tender” in many institutions.

“Sexual harassment is a form of corruption. It is a deviation from the norm for an official to use his/her office or position to demand, receive, obtain or at­tempt to obtain any form of sexu­al gratification for him to perform his duties.

“Ideally, official duties ought to be carried out with integrity, good conscience and diligence without the expectation of any unlawful benefit,” he said.

According to him, Section 2 (f) of the ICPC Act states that grat­ification includes any service or favour of any description …” Sec­tion 8 of the ICPC Act says: “Any person who corruptly asks for, receives or obtains any property or benefit of any kind for himself or any other person; is guilty of an offence of official corruption and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

“It is pertinent to note that unlawful benefits are not always pecuniary and it is dishearten­ing that sexual gratification has become a form of ‘illegal tender’ in many institutions.

“Staff members have been found to use their office to de­mand and receive sexual benefits from other staff and students in exchange for good grades or other favours.”

Oparaodu said it was unfor­tunate that due to the fear of stigmatisation or further victi­misation, many targets of such demands find themselves forced to succumb.

“This is in order to avoid dire consequences and denial of ben­efits to which they may ordinarily even be entitled.

“The culture of silence has al­lowed sexual harassment thrive but ICPC is working relentlessly to ensure that with sensitisation and appropriate policy implemen­tation, this culture would gradual­ly change,” he said.

He said ICPC is determined to put a stop to this, initiated the Sex­ual Harassment Unit with a focus on prevention of sexual harass­ment in tertiary and secondary institutions.

Oparaodu said this was to ad­dress the issue of sexual gratifica­tion and abuse of office and power by officials.

He explained that the purpose of the workshop was to educate students about how to easily con­tact the ICPC, report incidents of sexual harassment, and gather ev­idence in a way that will support the commission’s investigations.

In a paper he presented on ‘Sexual harassment, an offence against the individual/a crime against society’, the Deputy Di­rector, Proceed of Crime Depart­ment, ICPC, Adenekan Shogunle, urged participants to regard the fight as a collective one.

Shogunle said that youths should not accept sexual harass­ment, saying that the menace needed to be stopped to ensure the safety of educational institutions for learning.

“What is essentially a social disorder has become normal in many tertiary institutions.

“Absence of effective griev­ance remedial mechanisms and prevalent culture of silence, social tolerance has left many female students at the mercy of rabid predators.

“In a bid for justice, survivors are taking matters into their own hands; naming perpetrators and sharing experiences on social me­dia,” he said.

Policy Lead Gender, Mobile Initiative, Sarah Egbo, in a pa­per urged institution leaders to demonstrate a strong commit­ment to addressing sexual ha­rassment.

Egbo also called for involve­ment of the entire institution in policy development and imple­mentation; ensure transparency in reporting, investigation and decision making.

She encouraged collaboration with local organisation, law en­forcement and other stakeholders for a coordinated response.