SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Child sexual abuse in Nigeria negatively affects the future of children and destroys the image of the countries. It represents a current socio-cultural issue in the African society. The magnitude of child sexual abuse is enormous in Nigeria, where over 62 million (>41.5%) of its population are children. The aim of this study was to interrogate the socio-cultural factors of child sexual abuse in Lagos State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study was to identify the causal factors of child sexual abuse in Lagos State, ascertain the likely consequences of child sexual abuse in Lagos State, examine the extent to which socio-cultural factors affect child sexual abuse, examine the coping strategies adopted by male and female victims of child sexual abuse and ascertain existing measures for sanctioning perpetrators of child sexual abuse. This study investigated the socio-cultural context of child sexual abuse in Lagos State, Nigeria. A total of 1,822 participants (7.3 sexually abused males and 11.1 sexually abused females) between the ages of 11-17 were sampled through descriptive and exploratory sampling procedure from five Local Government Areas in Lagos State. A triangulation research design which comprised of the survey, In-depth interviews and case studies was adopted. Five research questions and three hypotheses were raised to achieve the objectives of the study. While research questions were answered using descriptive statistics, the hypotheses were tested at p=0.05 level of significance using inferential statistics. One-way ANOVA was used to test hypothesis one, two and three, respectively. Therefore, the results of the study revealed 11.1% of the respondents who had been sexually abused had a living arrangement in which they shared bedroom(s) with siblings of the opposite sex within the study area. Also, it was observed that 13.1% of the respondents reported being involved in child labour as they are involved in street hawking or any other trade to help their parents with household income, and 15.1% of the respondents' parent were not educated. Also, it was seen in the study that 85.7% of the respondent’s ability to educational comprehension had been negatively affected, and 88.1% had various health challenges all as a resultant effect of child sexual abuse. Sociocultural contexts of child sexual abuse incidence in Lagos State at X2 = 0.63, Degree of freedom = 5, critical value= 11.070 and p < 0.05 significantly predicted that the socio-cultural context supports sexual abuse incidences observed in the study. The results underscore the need to intensify awareness initiatives that will reduce the high occurrence of sexual abuse in society. It is also essential that all children who have been sexually molested need to be supported with an efficient medical intervention. Mental health care for sexually abused children needs to be evidence-based and trauma-focused. The study found out that weak/slow existing measure for sanctioning perpetrators can promote child sexual abuse. As a result, the Government have to lead on securing better and more consistent support for victims of child sexual abuse through entire court processes and beyond into therapeutic support for the victims