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The University of Lagos (Unilag) Student Affairs Division has come under widespread criticism following the circulation of a counselling flyer titled “Counselling Tips for Ladies,” which advised female students to avoid dressing to kill to prevent rape and sexual harassment.
Unilag Students’ Union stated on July 25, 2026, distancing itself from the material and affirming that sexual harassment and rape are never the victim’s fault.
The flyer, produced by the UNILAG Student Affairs Division, advised female students to avoid dressing in a certain way to prevent rape and sexual harassment, stating: “Your dress is your address.”
It listed eight behavioural tips directed exclusively at female students, including warnings against shaking hands with men, mingling carelessly with men, staying alone with a man in a hidden place, and accepting gifts frequently from men.
No corresponding guidance was issued to male students. The flyer circulated widely on social media, drawing immediate condemnation from students, gender advocates, and members of the public.
X user @TheIgboWolf stated, “In trying so hard to avoid telling men not to rape, they’ve written a full care manual for handling a dangerous animal at the zoo. Don’t feed it, don’t make sudden movements, don’t be alone with it. Every line assumes the man is an uncontrollable animal and the woman’s job is to not provoke it.” Another user, @BadmanSophss, stated, “Babies are being raped, women with special needs are being raped, women in a coma are being raped. When society decides that rapists are the actual problem, then we will make progress.”
One user, @gojosgoddess, disclosed a personal experience, stating that she was assaulted while studying at night in a sweater and joggers, and that a disciplinary panel subsequently told her she should have worn a bra and studied closer to her hostel.
Responding to the backlash on July 25, 2026, the Unilag Students’ Union, signed by its President, Akinpelu Bolaji, issued a formal statement stating, “Sexual harassment and rape are never the victim’s fault.
Responsibility lies solely with the perpetrator.” The union stated that while it acknowledged the importance of educating students on personal safety, such education must not imply that a survivor’s clothing, appearance, choices, or circumstances either cause sexual violence or reduce the responsibility of the perpetrator. It pledged to continue advocating for policies, awareness initiatives, and conversations that empower students, support survivors, and hold perpetrators accountable.
The Unilag flyer reflects a structural failure in how Nigerian educational institutions approach sexual violence prevention, placing the burden of avoiding rape on women rather than on the institutional systems designed to prevent, investigate, and punish it.
Victim-blaming messaging of this kind, produced and displayed by a university’s own Student Affairs Division, does not only misdirect responsibility. It actively discourages survivors from reporting, as evidenced by the account shared publicly on X of a student who was assaulted and then reprimanded by a disciplinary panel for what she wore.
