Gender relations and sexual violations in Nigerian universities. A situation analysis of Lagos State University, Nigeria

Gbemiga E. Adeyemi, Lagos State University
Adedokun Olaide
Emmanuel Ajiboye, Lagos State University

In the last three decades in Nigeria, progressive increase in female enrolment and involvement in the formal business of universities have resulted in a gendered composition of the universities, to the extent that 1 out of every 3 people is female. The female population in Nigerian universities has steadily increased within an overall national context of high female school dropout and the dynamics of gendered power relations, within the university environments, heightened. Such power relations operate at micro (stereotypes, exclusion, lack of voice, participation, powerlessness) and macro levels (expenditure patterns, institutional culture, governance styles, type of learning environment etc) and have been strongly associated with varying patterns of gendered violence. This study therefore, is an attempt to understand the relationships between gender relations and sexual violations in the university. The paper tries to answer some basic questions; what specific forms of power relations exist in the university that predisposes different categories of people to sexual coercion? What forms of gender relations encourage sexual corruption in the university. The data were derived from two sources, namely in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions. The Study revealed that the increase in the population of students cannot be merged with the academic staffs and facilities on the campuses. This led to an increasing strain on lecture facilities such as classrooms, libraries and hostels. These prevented many of the students from attending lectures and eventually make the female students vulnerable to sexual assaults. The institutional arrangement in terms of checking of results, examinations, code of conducts also creating an environment within which all kinds of transactions (including sexual) take place in the university. On the basis of this it is concluded that government should increase the allocations to the education sectors and the university should reduce the number of students admitted into the university