Nigerian-Canadian actress Shine Rosman has raised the alarm over the growing menace of sexual harassment in Lagos, calling out the Yaba area as a hotspot where women are routinely touched inappropriately in public with little to no consequences for offenders.
Rosman, known for her role in To Kill A Monkey and her advocacy work, voiced her frustration during an appearance on the Cafe One Studio podcast, decrying what she described as an alarming situation that authorities have long ignored.
“Do you know how bad sexual harassment is in Lagos? Go to Yaba as a girl and see how you’ll be touched inappropriately. Everyone hearing this knows it is true. But till today, nothing has been done about it,” she said.
The actress, who founded Available Shoulders — a non-profit supporting survivors of harassment and trauma — pointed to a viral TikTok video of a woman who fought back against her harasser with a cane as an example worth celebrating.
“I saw one girl on TikTok; she carried a cane. The person who touched her, she flogged. I said, ‘Good, flog him,'” Rosman recalled, adding her full endorsement of the woman’s response.
She further argued that in the absence of government action, self-defence may be women’s only option. “If the government is not going to do anything, it’s enough for us to defend ourselves. If a man can sexually harass you casually during the day, what do you think he can do behind closed doors when no one is looking?
“Meanwhile, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) says it continues to implement protective measures for women and girls, including medical, legal and psychosocial support for survivors, alongside public awareness campaigns and educational programmes.
