Rape, physical violence, and sexual harassment are all too common for most women. Members of the elite, like Senator Natasha, are usually protected from most aspects of the poverty-ridden and violent society that we all suffer from. Sexual harassment is also a key issue related to insecurity, as both Boko Haram, for example, and the army have allegedly used rape as part of their war in the North East Nigeria. Women and girls in Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps are also particularly at risk.
A survey showed that the chance of being sexually exploited was higher after women took refuge in IDP camps, by over 80%, within a year of being in a camp. But it is also a menace within families, as many women are raped by their husbands or boyfriends. Other researches have shown that many assaults are carried out by family members or close acquaintances, as well as, co-tenants. About 1 in 4 women in Nigeria have experienced intimate partner violence. The majority of rape survivors knew their rapists.
Nigerian society however, thinks of every female rape victim as a lesser woman. A woman who is no longer fit for marriage – so this reduces the level of such crimes being reported. Furthermore, a new Transparency International report published on International Women’s Day, 2025, exposes sextortion as a hidden corruption crisis affecting women globally. This is a largely unreported form of corruption. This abuse of power occurs when officials or those in authority coerce individuals into sexual acts in exchange for services, approvals, or protection.
The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015 prohibits all forms of violence against all people in private and public life. Applicable in the FCT, similar laws have also been passed in Anambra, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kaduna, Oyo and at least 10 other states. It includes provisions to help ensure perpetrators are brought to justice, and survivors are adequately supported. It has not been passed by many northern states, and in most parts of Niger Delta region. For more details of the laws against sexual harassment in Nigeria see: https://tinyurl.com/yc3kutz9
The consequential problem is that such laws and associated penalties make prosecution difficult. There are many problems with how the Nigerian police and legal system respond to rape cases, Inibehe Effiong, a Nigerian human rights lawyer said. “A regular police officer will treat cases of rape with levity. They will demand the victim fund the investigation through bribing”. Even, when cases are prosecuted, they are almost impossible to win. The law requires corroborating physical evidence, and this, says Effiong, “cannot be achieved without the necessary infrastructure, technology, and [forensic] science”.
Socialist Labour says the case of Senator Natasha highlights the rampant sexual harassments that most women face on a daily basis. If a senator can be harassed, defamed, and then suspended without any fair-hearing, then we can only begin to imagine what market women and the majority of poor women face throughout their lives.
Imagine, if Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, a woman in a top position, is subjected to such treatment for making a complaint of sexual harassment. How this renders all other women powerless in the face of unwarranted sexual advances by men in power, whether in churches and mosques, schools, higher education institutions, or politics, and in the home. It also emboldens those men who seek to abuse their power to sexually abuse women.
The public attacks and unconstitutional suspension that Natasha has suffered explains why so few women bother to report the sexual harassment, and worse. that they suffer.
Most women will suffer rape or other serious sexual attacks, but few will feel it worthwhile to report such serious offences to the police. As it was in Natasha’s case, if women do report such serious crimes, they are usually not believed and their private lives are subject to embarrassing scrutiny.
The 2018 official Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey found that 30% of girls and women aged between 15 and 49 reported having suffered sexual abuse, including rape. In 2019, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development said that two million women are raped every year. Whereas, the Federal Government does not make public any records it holds of incidents of gender-based violence in general, nor of rape in particular. The results of a survey published by NOI Polls in July 2019 suggested that the real situation could be much worse. It found that up to one in every three women in Nigeria could have experienced at least one form of sexual assault by the time they reach 25 years old. This poll also indicated a significant drop in the number of rape cases reported to the police over the previous five years (see: https://noi-polls.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/RAPE-REPORT-1.pdf).
Sexual harassment is particularly rife in unequal social or economic situations. But the fight against sexual harassment and rape is the responsibility of all women and men. We need to complain against sexist or degrading language and behaviour that treats women as sex objects. We have to try and change our work places to ensure such language and behaviour is seen as unacceptable. Any action that reduces economic inequality or social power relations will reduce this curse.
Many people appear to blame the incidence of rape on indecent dressing by women, excess intake of alcohol by the offenders and their victims and promiscuity. We need to change society’s attitudes to women.
It is not just about punishing cases of rape with harsh sentences, most cases of rape and sexual harassment go unreported. Even, when reported, few result in a conviction. We have to try and stop such incidents happening in the first place. We have to change the culture of our work places and organise against the blatant lack of respect and care for women and girls. These may include, banter, obscene languages, grooming, groping, stroking, and grabbing. without consent. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) organised its second march and symposium on gender-based violence and harassment at work at the end of March 2019. NLC has conducted extensive education and awareness training among members, a process that has mobilised members to confront gender-based violence at their workplaces, through collective actions.
Trade unions need to take cases of sexual harassment much more seriously. We have to demand that all such claims are taken seriously and investigated properly. We have to have zero tolerance for any form of sexual harassment in our workplaces.
Socialist Labour calls for zero tolerance for all forms of sexual harassment in our workplaces. Trade unions have to continue to work in this area and empower their women members.
In the case of Natasha, it is the Senate President, Akpabio, who should be suspended. This will allow a proper investigations of Natasha’s allegations.
