Devatop Centre for Africa Development, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has advised anti-corruption agencies to beam their searchlight on sextortion as a corruption pandemic that needed to be curbed.
Mr Joseph Osuigwe,Executive Director of the Centre, said this at a conference tagged “Talkam Against Sextortion and Online Sexual Exploitation Project” in Abuja on Monday.
The event which was supported by the U.S Embassy in Nigeria also witnessed the inauguration of the “Red Card2Sextortion”project as part of activities to commemorate the 16 days of Activities against Gender Based Violence.
Osuigwe said the call was necessary because it was one of the least discussed forms of violence against women and girls.
“While it is a hardly discussed issue, it has become a hidden pandemic in higher institutions, workplaces and religious organisations.
“What makes this crime thrive is not just the perpetuators but the silence and inactions of the society and the fact that a lot of people still see it as a minor act.
“I want to re-emphasise that sextortion is a hidden pandemic that constantly dehumanises the victims, cause self-harm and can even lead to death by suicide,” he said.
Osuigwe said that sextortion could come in form of sex for grades,employments, promotion,deliverance, investment, justice,asylum and support and could be a threat to one’s explicit image.
He said that sextortion was not just a criminal offence or corruption, but a sexual harassment, hence a human rights violation and a form of violence against women.
He said that the Redcard2sextortion campaign would focus on stimulating youths, leaders, organisations, educators agencies, law makers among others to speak out and take strategic actions to combat it.
Ms Bathseba Tagwai, Advocacy and Legal Adviser ,Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC),said there was need for protective legal framework to be enacted to help punish perpetuators of gender based violence.
Tagwai said there was also need for legal frameworks to be put in place to provide support for survivals.
She said that the culture of silence still prevailed in Nigeria, because of fear of stigma, distrust and fear of victimisation.
“That is why we are clamouring for more sensitisation among platforms to make survivals comfortable, parents too have to do a very serious work in encouraging their wards to report.
“They should be educated on the appropriate channels to report and make them know that sexual harassment is a form of corruption that can be punished and that would help.”
Ms Dorothy Njemanze, Executive Director, Dorothy Njemanze Foundation, a survival run organisation rendering real time free and confidential support services to survivals sexual and gender based violence called for awareness on GBV.
Njamanze said the foundation had so far received over 3000 cases GBV in 2022 both online and offline with more than 200 survivals in its shelter.
“To tackle sextortion in Nigeria, the sexual harassment policy of a lot of places we keep our vulnerable people needs to be known to us.
“It is an anomaly if the sexual harassment policy of a place puts the burden of being raped or being sexually violated on the victim.
“There are standard things that should be done; the perpetuator should be held accountable for violations,” she said.
Njamanze called on university undergraduates to critically analyse the sexual harassment policies of their institutions to refine the quality of sexual harassment policies at play.
She also called on Nigerians to focus on secondary and primary schools, including Sunday schools, Islamiya centres and vocational training centres to ensure they have sexual harassment policies.
This, she said would help in holding such institutions responsible and ensuring that perpetuators were punished rather than go scot free.