Sexual violence among young women in Nigeria: a cross-sectional study of prevalence, reporting and care-seeking behaviours.

BACKGROUND

Only a few studies, mostly hospital-based, have examined sexual violence among young people women in Nigeria. We examined the prevalence, correlates, perpetrators, reporting of and health-seeking behaviour for sexual violence using data of 395 young women (aged 17-24) obtained from a Nigerian university.

METHODS

We selected participants using stratified sampling and defined sexual violence as sexual acts or attempts to obtain sexual acts by violence or coercion by any person irrespective of their relationship to the victim. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to summarise the data obtained.

RESULTS

Our analysis shows that 39.5% of the respondents had experienced some form of sexual violence. Adequate family financial support was protective against sexual violence after adjusting for all background characteristics (AOR: 0.60 95% CI: 0.39-0.93). However, young women who use alcohol had higher odds of reporting sexual violence experience than those who never used alcohol. In most cases (78.5%), perpetrators were well known to the victims. Only 3.3% of sexual violence cases were reported to law enforcement agencies and just 13.1% of victims sought care from health providers.

CONCLUSION

Sexual violence occurs at a tragically high frequency, and victims rarely report incidents to law enforcement agencies or access the much-needed care. The findings suggest a need for interventions that address why victims of sexual violence rarely report to law enforcement or seek care.