PREVALENCE, PERPETRATORS AND PATTERN OF DISCLOSURE OF ADOLESCENT SEXUAL ABUSE IN SOUTH- SOUTH, NIGERIA
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Abstract
Background: Sexual abuse among adolescents is a serious public health problem. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, perpetrators and pattern of disclosure of adolescent sexual abuse in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
Methodology: This was an analytical cross-sectional comparative study involving 740 public senior secondary in-school adolescent students (14-19 years) from 4 selected schools (3 rural and 1 urban). An adapted, self-administered pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data analysis was carried out with Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25 software. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the predictors of unwanted sexual experiences in adolescents, and statistical significance was taken at p-value ≤ 0.05.
Results: The mean age of respondents was 17.0 ± 1.52 years (p<0.001). The prevalence of unwanted sexual experiences from the rural schools was 72.2% compared to 49.7% in urban schools. A higher proportion of respondents in urban compared to rural schools, (28.1%) and (24.9%) had school mate as the commonest reported perpetrators of sexual abuse (χ2=11.65, p= 0.040). Also a slightly higher proportion of respondents in rural schools, (27.3%) compared to (26.5%) from the urban schools mentioned Boyfriend/ Girlfriend as the perpetrators. The majority of respondents in both settings had not disclosed the sexual abuse. There was a slightly higher proportion of disclosure among respondents in the urban (34.3%) compared to (29.4%) (p=0.336). Of the proportion of respondents that had disclosed the abuse, a higher proportion of respondents in the rural 24(51.0%) had disclosed the abuse to family members, compared to 20(34.5%) in the urban (p=0.185). A higher proportion of respondents in the urban 19(32.8%) that disclosed sexual abuse were helped compared to 13 (27.7%) in the rural (χ2=12.82, p=0.012).
Conclusion: This study shows a high prevalence of sexual abuse among the respondents with boyfriend/girlfriend and schoolmate as the commonest perpetrators where the majority in both setting victims had not disclosed nor reported. There is a need for reproductive health education in schools and the establishment of Adolescent Friendly Health Services (AFHS) to cater for the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents in school.
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