Obozokhai Osawemen
Department of Physical and Health Education, University of Benin, Benin City.
Afr J Reprod Health. 2005 Dec;9(3):118-27.
Out-of-school teenage sexual harassment is a problem for both boys and girls in our society today, and the effects of this experience can affect their lives negatively in later adult life. The data on sexual harassment, particularly those on the out-of-school teenage population in Nigeria are very scanty, as a result of the sensitive nature of, and the stigma attached to the subject. This study sought to investigate the experiences of out-of-school teenagers with regards to sexual harassment in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. A survey method was used whereby a questionnaire was employed since most of the teenagers could not read. A total of 650 youths (293 males and 357 females) participated in the study. The findings indicate that sexual harassment is common out there in the streets, to the extent that it was viewed as the norm in the society by the youths. For example, 296 (83%) of all females and 152 (62%) of all males had experienced one or more forms of sexual harassment. It was also found that more females (82%) compared to 48% males experienced harassment and that anger was the most common response to the experience. The majority of the victims considered their assailants as abnormal and for the most part did not know how to handle the situation. The implications of these findings both for social/legal action and for health/sex education are discussed.
校外青少年性骚扰是当今我们社会中男孩和女孩都面临的一个问题，这种经历的影响会在他们成年后的生活中对其产生负面影响。由于性骚扰问题的敏感性以及与之相关的污名，关于性骚扰的数据，尤其是尼日利亚校外青少年群体的数据非常稀少。本研究旨在调查尼日利亚江户州贝宁城校外青少年遭受性骚扰的经历。研究采用了调查方法，由于大多数青少年不识字，所以使用了问卷调查。共有650名青年（293名男性和357名女性）参与了这项研究。研究结果表明，街头性骚扰现象普遍，以至于青少年将其视为社会常态。例如，所有女性中有296人（83%）、所有男性中有152人（62%）经历过一种或多种形式的性骚扰。研究还发现，遭受骚扰的女性（82%）比男性（48%）更多，愤怒是对这种经历最常见的反应。大多数受害者认为攻击者不正常，并且在很大程度上不知道如何应对这种情况。本文讨论了这些研究结果对社会/法律行动以及健康/性教育的意义。
