You have replayed it a hundred times wondering whether you imagined it, whether you encouraged it, whether anyone would believe you. That replaying is one of the most reliable signs that it happened.
Sexual harassment at work is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that violates your dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile or humiliating environment. It is common in Nigerian workplaces, it is substantially under-reported, and the damage it does to mental health is well documented. This article sets out what counts, what your options realistically are, and how to protect yourself whichever route you take.
What counts
It is not limited to physical contact. It includes:
- Unwanted touching of any kind
- Sexual comments about your body, appearance or clothing
- Persistent requests for dates or sexual contact after you have declined
- Sexual messages, images or calls, including on WhatsApp and outside working hours
- Quid pro quo — any suggestion that a promotion, contract, confirmation, reference, grade or continued employment depends on a sexual relationship
- Being punished or sidelined after refusing
- Sexual jokes or material that make the environment hostile
- Spreading sexual rumours about you
Two clarifications that matter, because both are used to make people doubt themselves. Intent is not the test — “it was only a joke” does not determine whether conduct was harassment. And not objecting at the time does not mean consent; freezing, laughing awkwardly or saying nothing are documented responses to being cornered by someone with power over you.
Men are harassed too, and are believed even less often. Everything here applies.
The law, in general terms
Nigeria’s Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act criminalises various forms of sexual and other violence, and has been adopted by a large and growing number of states. The Labour Act and general employment law provide routes around constructive dismissal and unfair treatment. The Criminal Code and Penal Code cover assault, indecent assault and related offences. There is also specific legislation covering harassment by educators in tertiary institutions.
What is missing is a single, comprehensive workplace-harassment statute with a clear enforcement path, which is why outcomes vary enormously by employer, by state and by who is involved.
This is general information and not legal advice. Take advice on your specific situation from a lawyer or a specialist organisation before acting.
Documentation — do this regardless
Whether or not you ever report, document. It costs nothing now and it is the thing you cannot recreate later.
- Write each incident down as soon as possible after it happens. Date, time, location, exactly what was said or done, who else was present.
- Keep it somewhere they cannot reach. A personal email account or a personal device — never a work laptop, work email or work-controlled cloud storage.
- Preserve messages. Screenshot WhatsApp, SMS, email, DMs. Include the sender details and timestamps in the capture. Back them up.
- Note the aftermath. Shifts in your workload, exclusion from meetings, a sudden change in appraisal, leave refused. Retaliation is often the more provable part.
- Note who you told, and when. A contemporaneous account to a friend or colleague carries weight.
Your realistic options
Do nothing yet. A legitimate choice. Many people are not in a position to act immediately, and delay does not invalidate anything. Document while you wait.
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Tell them to stop, in writing if it is safe. Sometimes ends it, and creates a record either way. Assess your own safety first.
Report internally. Check what your organisation actually has — a policy, a named officer, a grievance procedure. Be realistic about whether HR is independent; in many Nigerian organisations it protects the company. Put any report in writing and keep a copy outside work systems.
Report externally. The police, where conduct is criminal. Specialist organisations providing legal support to survivors. A lawyer, for employment or civil action. State agencies where they exist.
Leave, with a record. Sometimes the right decision. Leaving with documentation preserved keeps options open; leaving having deleted everything closes them.
None of these is the morally correct answer. You are entitled to weigh your safety, your income and the people who depend on it — see black tax for why “just resign” is not neutral advice here.
What it does to your mental health
Harassment is a workplace problem that produces clinical consequences. Commonly:
- Anxiety, dread before work, hypervigilance about being alone with the person
- Sleep breaking down — see insomnia
- Physical symptoms with no medical cause — see heat in the body
- Depression, withdrawal, loss of confidence
- Shame and self-blame — reviewing your own clothing, your own friendliness, your own failure to object
- Trauma responses that persist after leaving the job: flinching at a similar voice, avoiding meetings alone with men
- Effects on your relationships and on intimacy
Self-blame is close to universal and it is misplaced. Someone with power over your income behaved improperly. Your response in the moment — including freezing, including politeness — is not consent and is not culpability.
Getting support
Therapy helps, independently of what happens at work. It treats the anxiety, the sleep, the shame and the trauma responses, and it does not require you to have decided anything about reporting. Filter for trauma experience in our directory, and see the trauma hub.
Confidentiality. A therapist is not going to tell your employer. Is online therapy confidential in Nigeria? sets out exactly what is and is not shared. If you are using an employer-funded benefit, your employer receives billing information, never clinical content — see will my employer know I used therapy?
Crisis support. Our helplines are free and confidential. If the conduct has involved assault, or if you are in immediate danger, call 112.
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If this has tipped into hopelessness or thoughts of harming yourself, read coping with triggers of suicidal thoughts and use a helpline today.
If someone tells you it happened to them
Believe them, say so out loud, and do not ask what they were wearing or why they did not object.
Do not push them to report on your timeline. Help with the practical things — documentation, finding a lawyer, sitting with them in a meeting. And keep their confidence absolutely; disclosure spreading through an office without their consent causes real harm.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as sexual harassment at work?
Unwanted conduct of a sexual nature — touching, comments, messages, propositions, or making advancement conditional on a sexual relationship. Intent is not the test.
Is it still harassment if I did not object at the time?
Yes. Freezing, politeness or nervous laughter are documented responses to being cornered by someone with power over you, and none of them are consent.
Is sexual harassment illegal in Nigeria?
Various conduct is covered by the VAPP Act, criminal legislation and employment law, with adoption and enforcement varying by state. There is no single comprehensive workplace statute. Take legal advice on your specifics.
What if HR is not independent?
Document first and keep records outside work systems. External routes — a lawyer, the police where criminal, specialist organisations — remain available.
Can I get therapy without deciding whether to report?
Yes. Treatment for the anxiety, sleep and trauma effects does not depend on any decision about reporting.
