சுருக்கம்

Prevalence and pattern of child sexual abuse: A cross-sectional study among male secondary school adolescents in Ibadan, Nigeria

Balogun FM and Adenowuro OE

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of sexual abuse among male children and ascertain its circumstance of occurrence, perpetrators, risk factors and predictors. Research methodology: A cross-sectional approach and three-stage sampling technique were adopted. Two out of five local government areas in Ibadan metropolis were randomly selected; seven and five secondary schools were proportionately selected from each of the local government areas; thus twelve schools were included. Study participants were proportionally recruited based on the male student population of each school. In total, 472 male adolescents were included in this study. Interviewer-assisted semi-structured questionnaires were administered to collect data on the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, risk factors, prevalence and details of sexual abuse occurrence. The data were analyzed on SPSS Statistics 20, using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Logistic Regression with the significance level set at p ≤ 0.05. Results: The overall prevalence of sexual abuse was 29.0%. The most prevalent non-contact sexual abuse was being made to watch pornography (18.9%) while the commonest contact sexual abuse was being touched or fondled sexually (8.1%). Over half (54.1%) of the victims were abused at the house of the perpetrator. More victims (51.4%) had been sexually abused in the afternoon between 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. than in the evening or night (40.5%). The commonest perpetrators of non-contact sexual abuse were friends (55.5%), neighbors (22.7%) and family members (20.9%), while most perpetrators of contact sexual abuse were friends (47.3%), neighbors (25.7%) and strangers to the victims (12.2%). Sportive respondents were less likely to have experienced contact sexual abuse than those who had less frequent or no sport participation. Other factors associated with sexual abuse were coming from a polygamous home, having separated or unmarried parents, hawking, and assisting trading parents in the shop. Conclusion: This study shows the high burden of sexual abuse and its vicious pattern among male in-school adolescents. That considerable sexual abuse occurred in homes and during the afternoon shows there is a need for parents and other care givers to be educated about its occurrence and prevention among male adolescents. Mechanisms should be put in place to make adolescents safe outdoors and encourage their participation in activities that are protective against sexual abuse.