Lagos Assembly

Written by olagideon

A bill for a law to
prohibit acts of sexual harassment in the
work place and for connected purposes
has scaled through the first reading at
the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The bill, which is a Private member bill, is
sponsored by the Deputy Leader of the
House, Hon. Lola Akande representing
Ikeja Constituency 2.
Under section 7 of the bill, punishment
for sexual harassment states that any
person found guilty of sexual
harassment under the proposed law shall
be liable to a fine of N250,000 (Two
Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) or
six months imprisonment and dismissal
from work.
It also states that any employer who
fails to take necessary action to curb or
punish sexual harassment when reported
to him and confirmed by the employer,
shall be liable and on conviction
compensate the victim as the court may
determine.
According to jurisdiction under section
6 of the proposed bill, a charge of sexual
harassment if unresolved by the citizen
mediation centre, shall be brought
before a Magistrate by the office of the
Director of Public Prosecution (DPP),
which is under the Lagos State Ministry
of Justice.
Also in section 8 of the bill, which talks
about registration as a sexual offender,
a register of sexual offenders shall be
kept by all the Police Area Commands in
the state while a person who has been
convicted of sexual harassment shall be
registered as a sexual offender with the
Police Area command nearest to the
Magistrate Court in which he was
prosecuted.
In section 5, under acts that constitute
sexual harassment, the section
stipulates that the acts that would give
rise to a formal complaint under section
4 shall not be limited to sexual innuendo,
unsolicited touching and rape.