Justin Baldoni's lawyer has spoken out following allegations Blake Lively made about the director of their movie It Ends With Us.
In a legal complaint obtained by E! News Dec. 21 and filed with…
Blake Lively is taking legal action against her It Ends With Us costar and director, Justin Baldoni.
Following months of speculation about a feud between the Gossip Girl star and the Jane the…
Lizzo is saying exactly how she feels.
The “Truth Hurts” singer spoke out about the lawsuit filed against her by three of her former dancers in August 2023—days after she wrapped her Special tour—accusing the star of sexual harassment, weight-shaming and disability discrimination, among other grievances.
“I was literally living in my dream,” Lizzo told Keke Palmer on the Dec. 19 episode of the Baby, This is Keke Palmer podcast, “and then the tour ended, and three ex-dancers just completely, like, blindsided me with a lawsuit.”
The Grammy winner said she was “deeply hurt” by the allegations because the plaintiffs—Crystal Williams, Arianna Davis and Noelle Rodriguez—were “people that I gave opportunities to.”
“I was like, ‘What?’” she recalled. “But then I heard all the other things like sexual harassment, and I was like, they’re trying—well, I don’t know what they’re trying to do—but these are the types of things that the media can turn into something that it’s not.”
Brian Jordan Alvarez is speaking out on recent allegations.
The English Teacher creator and star has been accused of sexually assaulting his The Gay and Wonderous Life of Caleb Gallo costar Jon Ebeling while filming the 2016 web series, according to Ebeling’s police report filed Sept. 1 and obtained by E! News Dec. 17.
Ebeling made allegations in an article published by New York Magazine’s Vulture Dec. 17, about two times he said that Alvarez pressured or forced sexual acts with him during their friendship, once at Ebeling’s apartment and once on the set of their series, which Alvarez, 37, wrote, directed and starred in.
However, Alvarez’s representatives vehemently denied the accusation, emphasizing that their interactions were “always entirely consensual—as numerous witnesses have attested.”
“Indeed, in 2018, two years after this alleged incident, Mr. Ebeling himself unambiguously said as much on tape,” a spokesperson for Alvarez told E! News in a statement. “For many months, Mr. Ebeling has peddled his falsehoods to anyone who would listen but, when confronted with proof of his duplicity and definitive evidence provided by third parties showing why Mr. Ebeling should not be trusted, numerous media outlets declined to print his outrageous claims.”
Garth Brooks Breaks Silence Amid Rape Allegation From His and Trisha Yearwood’s Makeup Artist
Garth Brooks’ latest legal motion has been unsuccessful.
After the country singer sought to dismiss a case of sexual assault filed against him by a woman identified as Jane Roe, the United States District Court in California has temporarily denied his motion.
In Dec. 16 documents reviewed by E! News, the court details that Brooks’ motion was “denied without prejudice,” or temporarily denied, pending the outcome of another lawsuit against Roe filed in Mississippi Sept. 13.
Indeed, the lawsuit against Roe in the aforementioned state cites “defamation,” “false light invasion of privacy” and “intentional infliction of emotional distress through outrageous conduct.” Although Roe—who has been identified in the documents as a former makeup and hairstylist to Brooks, 62, and his wife of nearly 20 years Trisha Yearwood—is listed as the defendant in the case, the plaintiff is identified as John Doe in the documents, and is noted to be a resident of the state of Tennessee.
Brooks previously told E! News he is the John Doe identified in the case, saying he chose the alias “for the sake of families on both sides.”
ADF STAFF
Sexual violence against women and girls of all ages is rampant in war-torn Sudan, including rape, gang rape, forced marriages and sexual slavery.
A new United Nations report found that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia is using sexual violence as a deliberate tactic “intending to terrorize civilians.”
“The majority of rape and sexual and gender-based violence was committed by the RSF,” the report, published on October 29 by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, stated. “[It’s] part of a pattern aimed at terrorizing and punishing civilians for perceived links with opponents and suppressing any opposition to their advances.”
Mission Chair Mohamed Chande Othman said women and girls in territories under RSF control are victims of what amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“The sheer scale of sexual violence we have documented in Sudan is staggering,” the Tanzanian lawyer said in a statement. “The situation faced by vulnerable civilians, in particular women and girls of all ages, is deeply alarming and needs urgent address.”
Since fighting began in April 2023, Sudan’s brutal civil war between the army and the RSF has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than 14 million people to flee their homes in the world’s largest displacement crisis. The U.N. report revealed a pattern of gender-based violence by the RSF as its fighters have advanced in several Sudanese states, particularly in Khartoum, Darfur and El Gezira.
Several women have taken their lives in central El Gezira state after being raped by RSF fighters, according to rights groups and activists.
“The RSF started a revenge campaign in areas under the control of [former RSF general] Abu Kayka,” Hala al-Karib, head of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (Siha), told the BBC. “They looted, killed civilians who were resisting and raped women and little girls.”
While documenting gender-based violence in Sudan over the course of one week in late October, Siha confirmed three cases of suicide by female victims of sexual violence in El Gezira state, Karib said.
According to the U.N. report, sexual violence also has taken place during attacks on shelters for internally displaced people and on civilians fleeing the fighting.The report said that the RSF committed sexual crimes “with particular cruelty” in western Darfur, including the use of “firearms, knives and whips to intimidate or coerce the victims while using derogatory, racist or sexist slurs and death threats.”
“First-hand sources informed of rape of girls as young as 8 years and women as old as 75,” the report stated.
Although the Sudanese Armed Forces also has been accused of sexually abusing civilians, the U.N. report said that the RSF was responsible for “sexual violence on a large scale.” It also said the RSF and allied Arab militias have carried out “abduction, recruitment and use of children in hostilities.”
Nigerian scholar and advocate Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, one of the U.N. fact-finding mission’s three experts, said the RSF is destroying lives with impunity and must be held accountable. “These women, girls, boys and men in Sudan who are increasingly exposed to sexual and gender-based violence need protection,” she said in a statement. “Without accountability the cycle of hatred and violence will carry on.”
Othman said the situation continues to deteriorate and underscores the need for urgent protection of civilians.
“Ways must be found to create conditions for the immediate deployment of an independent protection force,” he said. “There is no safe place in Sudan now.”
The post RSF Accused Of Widespread Sexual Violence in Sudan appeared first on Africa Defense Forum.
WASHINGTON — Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault to head off the threat of a baseless lawsuit, according to Hegseth’s lawyer.
Hegseth was accused of sexual assault in 2017 after a speaking appearance at a Republican women’s event in Monterey, California, according to a statement released by the city. No charges were filed.
His lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, told the Associated Press on Sunday that the sexual encounter was consensual and that the woman who made the accusation to police several days later was the “aggressor.” That assertion has not been confirmed in the statement released by the city.
Parlatore said a payment was made to the woman as part of a confidential settlement a few years after the police investigation because Hegseth was concerned that she was prepared to file a lawsuit that he feared could have resulted in him being fired from Fox News, where he was a popular host. Parlatore would not reveal the amount of the payment.
“He was falsely accused and my position is that he was the victim of blackmail,” Parlatore said, calling it a case of “successful extortion.”
Read More: Pete Hegseth’s Role in Trump’s Controversial Pardons of Men Accused of War Crimes
The Washington Post earlier reported details of the payment. The newspaper also reported it obtained a copy of a memo sent to Trump’s transition team this past week by a woman who said she is a friend of the accuser that details the sexual assault allegations.
Trump’s transition team had no immediate comment Sunday on the memo.
The person who reported the assault—whose name, age and sex were not released—had bruises on the right thigh, according to the city’s statement. No weapons were involved in the encounter, the person told police.
The incident occurred sometime between 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 7 and 7 a.m. the following morning, according to the city’s statement.
Hegseth was in Monterey at the time to address the California Federation of Republican Women during a banquet dinner held at the group’s biennial convention, according to social media posts and promotional materials from the time.
Monterey officials said they were withholding further details included in the police report because it included analysis and conclusions by law enforcement officials that are exempt from release under state public records law.
At the time of the 2017 accusations, Hegseth, now 44, was going through a divorce with his second wife, with whom he has three children. She filed for divorce after he had a child with a Fox News producer who is now his wife, according to court records and social media posts by Hegseth. His first marriage ended in 2009, also after infidelity by Hegseth, according to court records.
After the accusations first surfaced last week, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump transition who has been named White House communications director, issued a statement saying the President-elect is “nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his Administration.”
“Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed. We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get started on Day One to Make America Safe and Great Again,” Cheung said.
—Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.
“For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars,” the 62-year-old said in a statement to E! News shortly after the filing was made. “It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face.”
He continued, accusing the plaintiff of extortion, “Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money. In my mind, that means I am admitting to behavior I am incapable of—ugly acts no human should ever do to another.”
In the lawsuit filed by Jane Roe, the plaintiff accused Brooks of “openly talking about sexual subjects,” and sending her sexually explicit messages including one “about having a threesome with his wife, Ms. Yearwood.”
Brooks later filed a preemptive lawsuit in Mississippi Oct. 8 to prevent the plaintiff from suing him in her native state.
“[Brooks] is the victim of a shakedown,” the country wrote in legal documents obtained by E! News. “When Jane Roe threatened to publish lies about him—intending to blackmail [Brooks] into paying her millions of dollars—he filed this lawsuit to preserve his reputation, establish the truth, and put a stop to her scheme.”
The House of Representatives on Wednesday resolved to consider the bills seeking to prevent, prohibit and redress sexual harassment of Students in Tertiary Educational Institutions and for and for related matters to the Committee of the Whole.
The resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of the motion sponsored by Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Hon. Francis Waive who underscored the need to re-commit the bill to the Committee of the Whole for consideration.
According to him, The House notes that pursuant to Order Twelve, Rule 17 of the Standing Orders, the House may, upon being re-gazetted or circulated, reconsider in the Committee of the Whole, without commencing de-novo, the Bill(s) (a) whose report was presented by the Committee before consideration: (b) passed by the House and forwarded to the Senate for concurrence for which no concurrence was made or negative; (c) passed by the Senate and forwarded to the House for which no concurrence was made or negative; (d) passed by the preceding Assembly and forwarded to the President for assent but for which assent or withholding therefore was not communicated before the end of the tenure of the preceding Assembly.
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“The House also notes that the under-listed Bills were passed by the preceding Assembly and forwarded to the President for assent but for which assent or withholding thereof was not communicated before the end of the tenure of the last Assembly.
The bill was sponsored by the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Akin Rotimi.
This Bill is enacted to promote and protect ethical standards in tertiary education, the sanctity of the student-educator relationship in the tertiary educational institutions across the country.
It also seeks to ensure dependency, trust and respect for human dignity in tertiary educational institutions by providing for protection of students against sexual harassment by educators in tertiary educational institutions; prevention of sexual harassment of students by educators in tertiary educational institutions; and redress of complaints of sexual harassment of students by educators in tertiary educational institutions.
As stipulated in the proposed bill, institution means any public or private tertiary or post-secondary educational institution in Nigeria and this includes any university, polytechnic, monotechnic, or college of education.
It also defined sexual intercourse as “penetration of a sexual nature of the vagina or anus or mouth of the student by the penis or mouth or finger of the educator or any instrument or toy by the educator and for this purpose, a male student can be sexually harassed by a female educator.”
The student according to the bill, refers to any person enrolled in any educational or training programs of a tertiary educational institution or post-secondary institution.
Diddy Charged With Sex Trafficking & Racketeering
After Combs was arrested based on the sealed indictment, the indictment was unsealed on Sept. 17.
The 54-year-old was charged with racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; as well as transportation to engage in prostitution, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.
The indictment alleged Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct” for more than a decade, with prosecutors saying the purported behavior started around 2008.
“To do so,” the documents stated, “Combs relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled—creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.”
According to NBC News, Combs pleaded not guilty and was denied bail.
“He’s going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might,” his attorney Marc Agnifilo told reporters outside the courthouse prior to the arraignment, “and the full confidence of his lawyers.”
Peter Nygard, the founder of one of Canada’s largest clothing brands, was sentenced Monday to 11 years in prison for four counts of sexual assault of women and a girl in Toronto.
He could be released in about six and a half years with credit for time spent in pre-trial custody, or sooner if he is granted parole.
Nygard, 83, is “a Canadian success story gone very wrong,” Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Goldstein said in handing down the sentence.
He called him “a sexual predator,” adding that “Mr Nygard used his wealth, power and profile to prey on his victims.”
Wearing a dark hoodie and a makeshift visor to shield his eyes in court, Nygard did not appear to react to the decision.
His lawyer, Gerri Wiebe, said he planned to appeal the sentence while continuing to “maintain his innocence” in several other criminal cases pending against him.
Outside the Toronto courthouse, a spokesperson for one of Nygard’s victims, whose identities are protected by court order, read a statement describing a sense of closure after “four years of hell.”
“We did this to ensure every victim of sexual assault will remember this trial and feel the strength and confidence to come forward and not be threatened by social status or money,” read the statement.
Nygard was convicted in November 2023 of using his status as the head of one of Canada’s largest womenswear makers to sexually assault three women and a 16-year-old girl between 1988 and 2005.
His trial heard he had invited them to his opulent Canadian offices on the pretense of lucrative modelling or other opportunities, only to find themselves trapped in a top-floor bedroom suite with a hot tub where he preyed on them.
The case marked a spectacular fall for a man who once oversaw 170 of his eponymous stores in Canada and the United States, and threw lavish parties at his homes in the Bahamas—a Mayan-inspired playground with fake volcanoes—and Los Angeles.
Prosecutors had sought to have Nygard incarcerated for at least 15 years while the defense, citing his advanced age and failing health, urged releasing him within two years.
The judge noted in his sentencing decision a high level of “violence, degradation and (the) duration of these sexual assaults, (as well as) the manipulations used to get the victims into (his) private apartment” in Toronto.
Nygard also did not moderate his behaviour over the years, the judge noted.
At the height of his success, Nygard dined with Queen Elizabeth II and rubbed shoulders with political leaders and Hollywood stars.
He had long boasted about his rise from humble beginnings, as a young Finnish immigrant who built a fashion empire and amassed a personal fortune worth Can$850 million (US$620 million).
But it all came crashing down in 2020, when police raided his Manhattan corporate headquarters, and his company filed for bankruptcy protection shortly afterwards.
His arrest in Canada the same year came after a whistleblower released footage that included a 17-year-old dancing on a stripper pole on Nygard’s private Boeing 727 plane.
One of his Canadian accusers called Nygard “a monster.”
In the United States, prosecutors allege Nygard used company funds to host “pamper parties” where minor girls were drugged and women assaulted if they did not comply with his sexual demands.
They have sought his extradition to the United States.
Nygard also still faces trials on separate charges in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Quebec.
AFP
Egyptian Olympic wrestler Mohamed ‘Kesho’ Ibrahim has been arrested in Paris for allegedly sexual assault.
A statement by the Paris prosecutor’s office said, “On August 9 around 5am, a man born in March 1998 in Egypt who was a wrestler in the Olympic delegation was arrested in front of the Oz Cafe.”
The Egyptian wrestler was arrested for allegedly touching the buttocks of another customer at the cafe.
The Egyptian Olympic Committee (EOC) named Kesho, who won a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games, as the team member who had been arrested.
The EOC added that Kesho will be investigated by its ethics committee and could face a life ban from competition if found guilty.
“If the allegations are substantiated, the wrestler will face permanent suspension and will be barred from participating in both domestic and international competitions,” it said.
Kesho was beaten by Azerbaijan’s Hasrat Jafarov in the first round of the men’s 67kg Greco-Roman wrestling on Wednesday.
The EOC said he had been given permission to leave the Egyptian camp to watch the final of his weight category but failed to return and turned off his phone.
The Lagos State Police Command has detained an Executive Director at ARM Pension Managers (PFA) Limited (name withheld) following allegations of sexual assault levelled against him by a colleague.
The female colleague (name also withheld) reported to the police that the incident occurred on the night of July 18, 2024.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, told PUNCH Online, on Friday, that the accused is in custody.
“The said director at ARM Pension Managers is in our custody. His case has been referred to the Gender Desk, Lagos State Police Command,” Hundeyin said in a phone chat.
According to the victim, the assault took place after an office party hosted by ARM Pension.
She said she was abducted and raped at a popular hotel on Chevron Drive, Lagos.
The victim disclosed this in a statement obtained by our correspondent where she alleged that the accused had “penetrative sexual intercourse” with her after her drink was “spiked.”
She recalled that she consumed a small amount of Jameson Whiskey mixed with Coke and one cocktail at the party.
She added that her last memory was around 7.30pm to 8pm, after which she experienced a blackout, only to wake up undressed in the hotel room around 3am.
“I checked the time, it was around 3am, and my private parts were sore and felt like someone had invaded me.
“I walked out of the room and looked around for a clue of the name of the hotel to even have a sense of where I was, I saw the name XYZ Hotel (name withheld). I googled it, and I found that it is on Chevron Drive. I asked the receptionist and security man to help me get a taxi so I could go home,” she said.
Meanwhile, the company in a Wednesday statement addressed the assault allegation, stating that the accused executive had been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an independent investigation.
The statement read, “ARM Pension Managers (PFA) Ltd is aware of a serious allegation of assault involving our employees. We are deeply disturbed by this and are committed to addressing the situation with the utmost seriousness and sensitivity.
“First and foremost, our thoughts are with our colleague who has come forward. We want to express our deepest concern and support for her during this tough time. Sexual assault is a grave matter that has no place in our organisation and society at large, and we stand firmly against all forms of harassment or violence.
“This incident reportedly took place outside the office premises on the night of July 18, 2024, after an office team bonding event and involved two of our colleagues. We have initiated a thorough and independent investigation into the allegation, and we are fully cooperating with the law enforcement authorities to ensure that the investigation is comprehensive and impartial.
“The accused employee, an executive in the company, has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation’s outcome. Additionally, we are offering support services to the complainant who has come forward, including counselling and any other resources she may need during this time.”
The statement concluded by emphasising the company’s commitment to creating a safe and respectful workplace for all employees, pledging to support the investigation, and ensuring transparency throughout the process.
“We understand the gravity of this situation and the impact it has on all involved. Hence, we will handle this situation with the highest level of integrity and transparency,” it read.
Rape is a heinous crime that violates the dignity and humanity of individuals, leaving deep scars that persist long after the act itself.
In Nigeria and many other parts of the world, this abhorrent act has become a disturbing endemic, undermining the fundamental rights and safety of countless people.
PUNCH Online reported that the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Lamuwa, was suspended by the Office of the Head of Service over a sexual harassment allegation in June.
The Head of Service, Folashade Yemi-Esan, said the permanent secretary would be on suspension pending the outcome of a probe into the allegation against him.
“The permanent secretary has been suspended pending the outcome of the probe by the committee set up, “ a senior director in the OHCSF told our correspondent in Abuja.
The complainant, one Simisola Ajayi, accused Lamuwa of serial sexual harassment.
Ajayi, in the petition filed by her lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), outlined alleged instances of harassment.
In 2020, the International human rights organisation, Amnesty International, called on the then-President, Muhammadu Buhari, to declare rape as a national crisis in the country.
Amnesty International said that it joined its voice to other civil societies demanding justice over the incident of rape and murder of a 22-year-old student of the University of Benin, Uwavera Omozuwa, as well as 18-year-old Barakat Bello in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The Abia State University, Uturu, has suspended a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Dr. Udochukwu Ndukwe, for three months following allegations of sexual harassment against a female student.
A letter signed by the school’s registrar, Dr Acho Elendu, dated July 30, 2024, and obtained by PUNCH Metro on Thursday, stated that Ndukwe would be investigated and would lose half of his pay “in line with the University Conditions of Service pending the conclusion of the investigation for which a panel has been set up.”
The letter described the suspended lecturer’s actions as an “embarrassment” to the The disgraced lecturer, our correspondent learnt, had repeatedly been accused of sexually harassing, intimidating and extorting female students of the department.
A viral social media video obtained by PUNCH Metro on Thursday showed the lecturer on his knees, being interrogated by several individuals in a room.
Ndukwe was, our correspondent gathered, allegedly set up by a final-year female student whom he was accused of continuously sexually harassing and intimidating.
PUNCH Metro investigations revealed that to expose the predatory lecturer, a female student he had allegedly been harassing for over two years collaborated with others to set him up at a popular hotel in Umuahia, where he was caught pants down, pleading not to be exposed.
Our correspondent also noted in the viral short video that the lecturer’s lips were bloodied and he had visible bruises.
According to the letter, a panel has been established to further investigate the suspended lecturer “pending the conclusion of the investigation.”
He said, “Following the disturbing online video clip involving you, trending on social media, which has brought embarrassment to Abia State University, the Vice-Chancellor, on behalf of the Governing Authorities, has approved your immediate suspension from duty for three months, in the first instance, with half salary, in line with the University Conditions of Service pending the conclusion of the investigation for which a panel has been set up.
“You are to hand over any university property in your possession to your Head of Department.
“By this notice, all relevant authorities of the university are to note, for strict compliance.”
All attempts by PUNCH Metro to get a reaction from the university registrar regarding the suspension were unsuccessful, as his mobile telephone number went unanswered on Thursday, and he had not responded to a text message sent as of the time this report was filed.
Recently, the chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, raised the alarm over the spate of sexual harassment in Nigeria’s primary and secondary schools.
This is a confirmation of an earlier report by the anti-graft agency that between 2012 and 2022, there were 17 cases of sexual harassment in secondary schools. The report also claimed that paedophilia is becoming pervasive in the society.
In a survey conducted in 2018 by the World Bank, 70 per cent of graduates from Nigerian tertiary institutions are said to have been sexually abused, with the main culprits being lecturers. In August 2023, a lecturer at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), Dr Cyril Ndifon, was suspended by the institution following a protest by his students, alleging that he had subjected them to various forms of sexual harassment. He had been suspended for similar reasons in 2015 after a final-year student accused him of raping her in his office. Ndifon is currently on trial before a Federal High Court in Abuja.
On July 7, 2020, the upper chamber of the National Assembly, the Senate, passed the Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill into law. It was eventually passed by the House of Representatives in 2022. By 2023, both chambers of the National Assembly jointly passed the bill. The law seeks to promote and protect girls against sexual harassment in tertiary institutions.
Unfortunately, despite efforts by the Nigerian government to tackle this menace through implementing various policies and legislations, the unwholesome act persists. Sexual harassment, hitherto known to be more prevalent in higher institutions of learning, has now become a nagging issue in primary and secondary schools. Sadly, the girls find themselves at the mercy of both the teachers and their fellow pupils.
A United States of America’s findings in 2021 revealed a disturbing trend of sexual harassment across secondary schools in Nigeria. The report called for urgent measures to address the menace before it gets out of control.
Indecent dressing among female students has been blamed as a major factor driving sexual harassment in tertiary institutions. Sex for grade is another factor in tertiary institutions where male lecturers take undue advantage of their female students.
In the opinion of this newspaper, sexual harassment will continue to be a problem in Nigerian schools if the mode of dressing of girls is given as an excuse for the illicit act. Blaming the victim will cause the perpetrators to evade justice. What can we say about primary and secondary school children fully clad in their school uniforms? Do they also dress provocatively?
The culture of letting offenders go scot-free without stiff penalty or punishment has continued to embolden perpetrators of this unacceptable act against the female gender.
We recall that the federal government, in 2019, launched its first National Sex Offender Register to name and shame perpetrators of this unwholesome act across the country. One state that has been in the forefront of naming and shaming sexual offenders is Lagos.
Only 10 out of 36 states, including the FCT, have adopted the law, while the remaining states are still struggling to implement it. The states are Lagos, Ekiti, Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Edo, Kaduna, Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa. Only four states—Lagos, Ekiti, Akwa-Ibom, and Edo—have so far published full details of the offenders. Sadly, these registers are not updated regularly, thereby defeating the aim for which it was implemented in the first place.
The lack of stringent laws to prosecute offenders is apparently the reason why perpetrators of this evil act have taken it a notch higher by sexually harassing innocent primary and secondary school students. In 2021 and 2022, two prominent private secondary schools in Abuja and Lagos, respectively, made headlines when parents called out the school authorities over allegations of rape by teachers of the school.
Despite overwhelming evidence against the authorities, the schools involved refuted the allegations. According to a recent report, sexual harassment is forcing many Nigerian girls out of secondary schools, contributing to the already alarming figure of out-of-school children, especially among girls.
This newspaper thinks that if the government is serious about combating this shameful act, it must compel other states to domesticate the law and follow the lead of Lagos, Edo and Ekiti, which are notable for naming and shaming sex offenders to properly document the culprits.
We also believe urgent steps must be taken to curb this problem. Everyone has a role to play in addressing sexual harassment of young children in schools. Systems should be created that allow students to report incidents anonymously.
Perpetrators, no matter how highly placed, must be brought to justice. Serious situations such as sexual harassment are often ignored and sometimes treated as a joke. This is unacceptable!
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