DETERMINANTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE AMONG SELECTED FEMALE ADOLESCENTS IN SEMI-URBAN CALABAR MUNICIPALITY CROSS RIVER STATE NIGERIA; DESCRIPTIVE SURVEY (Preprint)

BACKGROUND One of the public health problems affecting the entire world is sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is a worldwide problem affecting both developed and developing countries alike. Sexual abuse also known as sexual violence refers to any act perpetuated with the intension of obtaining sex through force, violence or coercion, which, according to World Health Organization (WHO), encompasses a variety of situations, namely rape, sexual or physical abuse, forced marriage and child marriage OBJECTIVE The specific objectives of the study are to: 1. To determine the environmental determinants of sexual abuse among female adolescents in semi-urban Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria. 2. To explore the social determinants of sexual abuse among female adolescents in semi-urban Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria, 3. To ascertain the psychological determinants of sexual abuse among female adolescents in semi-urban Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria. METHODS A total of 241 female senior secondary schools (SS I & SS II) students of four (4) public secondary schools in semi-urban Calabar Municipality were selected as sample of the study using simple random sampling techniques. The instrument of data collection was a structured questionnaire. Data collected were presented and analyzed using frequencies, percentages and descriptive statistics (Means [ ]). The hypothesis was tested using Chi-square (X2) analysis. RESULTS The results of the study revealed that, 57(23.6%) respondents strongly agreed that walking in lonely places at night can expose a teenage girl to sexual abuse; 64 (26.6%) respondents agreed; 61 (25.3%) respondents disagreed; while 59 (24.5%) respondents strongly disagreed. Also, 121 (50.2%) respondents strongly agreed that girls who attend clubs and parties can easily be abused sexually; 94 (41.5%) respondents agreed; 19 (7.96%) respondents disagreed; while 7 (2.9%) respondents strongly disagreed 94 (39.0%) respondents strongly agreed that girls who have poor self-concept are at risk of being sexually abused 104 (43.2%) respondents agreed; 21 (8.7%) respondents disagreed; while 22 (9.1%) respondents strongly disagreed. There is a significant relationship between age and occurrence of sexual abuse among female adolescents in semi-urban Calabar Municipality CONCLUSIONS Those living in isolated environment surrounded by men, walking in lonely places at night, living in city slums and living in neighbourhoods where crime rate is high attending clubs and parties, poor parent-child relationship, making friends with males, peer pressure indecent dressing, having poor self-concept, low self-confidence, negative attitude to sex, and lacking the sense of decency often leads to sexual abuse.