As part of efforts to find lasting solutions to burgeoning incidence of sexual harassment in schools, some students within three (3) tertiary institutions in the country - University of Ghana, Legon, University of Professional Studies (UPSA), Ghana Institute of Journalism - have taken the charge to embark on a campaign to create awareness and sensitize their fellows on sexual offenses and how to deal with them.

The campaign dubbed “orange your campus: stand against sexual abuse” has gained momentum, barely within a period of 10 days reaching over 600 students across campuses within the 3 tertiary institutions with churning out adequate information to students on sexual and gender based violence (SGBVs).

Initiated by the Amnesty International Ghana (AIG) and supported by the Australian High Commission and the French Embassy, the campaign was aimed at empowering young people on various university campuses with strong support for students who fall victims to sexual offences to get help.

At the campus of University of Ghana, Legon, several activities ranging from hall to hall outreach campaigns, classroom engagements as well as social media campaigns were staged just to educate students on the school’s anti-sexual harassment policies as well as the corrective measures put in place to deal with the offenders.

“So far we’ve conducted two hall to hall outreach meetings, two social media engagements including reaching out to students within five lecture halls covering a minimum of 200 students to get them informed and encouraged to speak up whenever confronted with the issue of sexual harassment”, Bright Emmanuel Abiah, a student leader said in an interview.

“We’ve created awareness on campus with flash mobs, took pictures with some students after having enlightened them on various acts which constitutes abuse of people’s rights including sexual and gender based violence. In fact, it was a shock to some of them who got to know for the first time that invading into someone’s personal space amounts to sexual harassment,” Yartey Abena Mabel, a lead campaigner said while giving account on the activities she mobilized with the support of her colleagues at the Ghana Institute of Journalism campus. According to her, much work is being done to extend the campaign to cover next semester when school reopens in January 2020.

Meanwhile, the campaign situation at the campus of the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) could not differ from that of the UG and GIJ which recorded similar events but with much impact, characterized with deeper levels of awareness creation vividly enumerated by Appiah Beverley Benewaa, the SRC Women Commissioner of the school in an interview.

“Ours was hostel to hostel campaign where we’ve engaged a lot of students on the need to stop sexual abuses especially the men and we’ve also appealed to the ladies to eschew wearing of provocative dresses in order not to provoke the men since that has been the norm on campus and it’s really worrying”. “We’ve also taken pictures and created quotes which was shared on social media platforms to sensitize to create awareness on the 16 Days Activism against the Gender-Based Violence”.

Amnesty International Ghana launched the first edition of the “orange your campus: stand against sexual abuse” campaign in Accra on November 25 at a ceremony which coincided with the mark of this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.