FUTO pledges to curb sexual harassment in varsity — Features — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

The Vice Chancellor and college students of the Federal College of Expertise, Owerri (FUTO) have pledged to assist efforts focused at curbing the prevalence of sexual harassment within the establishment.

They made the pledge at a one-day in-house sensitisation marketing campaign towards the menace, which was organised by the feminist non-governmental organisation, Alliances for Africa (AfA), in partnership with the Establishment of Girls, Gender, and Growth Research (IWOGDS), FUTO, held on the college over the weekend.

Talking, FUTO VC Prof. Nnenna Otti, represented by the Deputy (Lecturers), Prof. Emmanuel Esenwah, recognized indecent dressing, a nonchalant perspective to research, and ethical decadence among the many college students and employees as main components facilitating the menace within the faculty.

Otti acknowledged that FUTO maintains zero tolerance for all types of indecent behaviour and guaranteed that extra stringent measures can be put in place to cut back, if not cease, instances of sexual harassment and different sundry crimes within the college.

Additionally, IWOGDS Director, Prof. Edna Matthew-Njoku, and the College students’ Union President, Comrade Stanley Nwosu, pledged to repeatedly sensitise and encourage college students to at all times converse out or report back to applicable authorities any case of sexual harassment skilled inside the establishment, whereas assuring them of ample safety and justice.

Earlier in her speech, AfA Programme Director, Ms. Blessing Duru, stated, “Sexual harassment stays a pervasive situation in Nigerian tertiary establishments, together with FUTO.”

She pressured that “regardless of present insurance policies, sexual harassment persists at FUTO, undermining the dignity of each college students and employees, in addition to severely disrupting educational and administrative progress and hindering nationwide growth.”

Duru expressed concern that if the menace isn’t checked, college students’ educational growth and employees progress will proceed to endure.

She, due to this fact, suggested the FUTO administration and different stakeholders on the necessity to urgently strengthen insurance policies, set up assist techniques, and enforcement mechanisms on the establishment to create a safer studying setting and conducive educational ambiance for the good thing about your entire college group.

The sensitization marketing campaign had over one thousand college students and employees, together with the highest administration staff of the establishment, in attendance.