Adedamola Akintokun
400-level Medicine & Surgery
Lagos State University
‘Stop! Please, Stop!’ With screams or muffled voices, many men and women say these words daily, suffering the scourge of various forms of sexual harassment from their predators. Teary eyes and lost voices are physical outbursts that follow such incidents but the psychological and mental impact is usually lifelong and changes the courses of their lives in tremendous ways.
In a seemingly unending trail of events, the issue of sexual harassment is a topic of discussion for male and female alike. From catcalling, inappropriate gifts, sexual innuendos and sexist comments or jokes to sexual assault and rape, most people have experienced one form of sexual harassment or the other with many not even realizing they have been harassed. The normalcy this trend has taken is disturbing, especially in Nigeria where there are very few effective laws, if any, protecting the sexually harassed and punishing the offenders.
As reported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2015, one out of every four girls and one out of ten boys in Nigeria are sexually assaulted before the age of 18. Nonetheless, sexual harassment is not confined to this age bracket as there are many incidents in workplaces and institutions of learning. The Nigerian Law on Sexual Harassment does not recognize acts other than vaginal penetration of a girl or woman by a boy or man as intercourse (i.e. grounds for a sexual harassment claim); it also does not consider the possibility of a man or boy being raped. These inadequacies, alongside the absence of laws protecting workers from sexual harassment in the workplace, are some of the reasons why survivors find it difficult to report cases and find help.
There are a myriad of research work carried out in developed countries to help citizens understand their rights, including what to do if confronted in inappropriate sexual situations and how to work through the aftermath if they fall victim. Despite the limited resources on sexual harassment in the workplace in Nigeria, even fewer exist on the impact of this vice amongst students of tertiary institutions.
Pendical, a website run by medical students, surveyed the extent and impact of sexual harassment among medical students in Nigeria; the responses established that there were too many unreported cases among students. It is pertinent to note that many victims of harassment in Nigeria have prior relationships with the violator, being trusted relatives, teachers or employers. This trend follows the popular opinion that sexual harassment is usually an expression of power over a seemingly weaker person.
Most survivors of sexual harassment never fully recover and the eventual psychological effect depends on how these survivors respond to and deal with the experience. A number of the survey responders stated emphatically that they just suppressed the emotions they felt afterwards and moved on, but did they really? Shock, denial, anger and fear are the primary reactions displayed by survivors, according to the University of South Florida. “I was angry”, “I was greatly terrified”, “I was mad” were statements used by our respondents to describe their states of mind following the incidents, stemming from the feeling of loss and disappointment in the violators (cousins, teachers, friends, uncles).
It is difficult to shake off the feeling of guilt after an experience of sexual assault; survivors tend to search for reasons why they brought such ill-luck upon themselves. A few respondents were raped by their boyfriends: one blamed herself for going over to his room to visit; another blamed it on him being naïve and not understanding what he was doing. Every survivor must be constantly reminded that they are not to blame, as this greatly determines how most of them handle getting over the experience.
After the short-term emotions displayed by the survivors, the road to recovery, or not, could be a path of acceptance—talking to someone and seeking professional help—or a spiral down depression, sleepless nights, blaming oneself, casual sex and other addictions. When one has been sexually harassed, it is important to try and talk to someone in trust, seek medical help if it was assault or rape and very importantly, find the strength and courage not to blame yourself or feel voiceless. Speak out and find help.
People respond differently to life situations and regardless of how comparatively little or insignificant the form of sexual harassment experienced may seem, the reaction depends on the type of person the victim is. One of the respondents was harassed by his older cousin as a teenager, did not speak to anyone about it and tried to deal with his resulting state of mind afterwards. Sadly, he ended up almost sexually assaulting his little sister.
Depression, shame, insecurity and powerlessness are some of the psychological effects of being sexually harassed and survivors often have to go the extra mile to heal properly and feel whole again.
Speak up; you are not to blame and you are not alone. Out of fear and insecurity, survivors tend to keep mum and suffer in silence; they don’t have to. There are some government-run facilities and social enterprises that are available to respond to victims’ call for help. One of such is Hello Lagos, an initiative by the Lagos State Government; others include Mirabel Centre, WARSHE and MediaCon. Other sexual assault referral centres across the nation can be found here.
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