Ita-Giwa: “Women Can’t Be Sexually Harassed When They Become Senators”

Senator Florence Ita-Giwa has criticized Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s sexual harassment claim, stating that once women become senators, they cannot be sexually harassed.

According to her, it is a sign of weakness for a senator to publicly claim they were sexually harassed.

Recall that last Friday, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan appeared on Arise TV, where she accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of maligning her and blocking any motion she submits because she refused to give in to his sexual advances.

Reacting to Natasha’s allegation, Senator Ita-Giwa, while speaking on Arise TV this morning, asserted that women cannot claim to be sexually harassed once they are elected into the Senate.

“By the time you contest elections and get to Senate, you have passed that stage of your life of being sexually harassed. You go there to serve, and you are all equal in that place. And again, it shows weakness; you don’t allow it. It (sexual harassment) can not happen in the Senate.

I am not saying the lady is lying, but when you get to the Senate, you’re there as a person. You’re not there as a woman.

At that stage in politics, if you come out and say someone is sexually harassing you, it is a weakness.”

When asked if female lawmakers should remain silent when their colleagues sexually harass them, Ita-Giwa insisted that it is a sign of weakness for female senators to accuse their colleagues of making advances toward them.

“On this matter, I am not with Senator Akpoti. It is the worst sign of weakness on a woman’s part to come out and accuse a man of making passes at you at that level,” she said.

She maintained that female senators should see themselves as equal lawmakers to their male counterparts, emphasizing that winning a senatorial election is no easy feat.