Sexual Harassment Policy is not to Intimidate Anybody

A member of the Sexual Harassment Committee, Prof. Nancy Lundgren has stated that the introduction of the sexual harassment policy is not meant to intimidate anybody in the University Community. Prof. Lundgren explained that the policy was to educate staff and students to understand and appreciate the relationship male and female at the work setting. “We need to treat each other as human being whether male or female and no person should take undue advantage of the other at the work place,” she stressed. Prof. Ludgren made this statement at a two-day Sexual Harassment Workshop organised by the Centre for Gender Research, Advocacy and Documentation (CEGRAD) for the various Hall Masters/Wardens, staff and representatives of the student unions on campus at the Institute of Education Conference Hall. She said “the University is concerned about issues of sexual harassment because it undermines the integrity of the society and workplace”. Speaking at the workshop, the Chairman of the Sexual Harassment Committee, Prof. L. K. Sam-Amoah said that hall masters/warden and their staff were selected for the first workshop because of their regular interaction with the students. He noted that the workshop formed part of awareness creation as stated in the policy. The Vice-Dean of Students Affairs, Prof. Daniel Okae-Nti said due to the relevance of the policy, it has been incorporated into the Students’ Handbook for wider circulation to enable students understand and report any act of sexual harassment to the appropriate quarters for redress. Some of the topics presented by resource persons at the workshop were “Gender and Power Dynamics in Sexual Harassment” by Prof. Akua O. Britwum, “Legal Definition, Constitutional and Human Dimensions, Some Facts and Processes” by Mrs. Sheila Minka Primo and “Handling Sexual Harassment Cases (victims) Sensitivity” by Adolf Awuku.