Perceived knowledge of causes and prevention strategies for sexual violence among university students in Niger Delta region of Nigeria
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Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Journal of Positive Psychology and Counselling
Abstract
Sexual violence is a major public health problem that disregards basic human rights globally.
Worldwide, mass media reports have shown an increased rate of sexual violence in higher
institutions of learning, therefore exploring the knowledge of causes and strategies in prevention
of sexual violence among undergraduate students is crucial in order to promote a coordinated
movement against it. This descriptive cross-sectional study is aimed at assessing the knowledge
of causes and strategies employed in prevention of sexual violence among undergraduate
students in Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
Data were collected using the questionnaire and a multistage sampling technique was used to
obtain a sample of 400 respondents from the population. Data analysis was done using SPSS
version 20.0 at a 5% level of significance. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to
analyze the data collected. These were presented in tables and figures.
All the respondents have heard of sexual violence and opined that sexual violence is prevalent in
the university. Most of the respondents demonstrated adequate knowledge on sexual violence but
poor knowledge of where to report cases of sexual violence in the university. The major causes
identified were Inadequate Punishment of perpetrators (100%), Keeping silent and not reporting
the offenders 392 (98.0%), Portrayal of women as sex objects in the media (96.5%), Alcohol and
drugs (95.5%), Inadequate security on campus (99.5%), Indecent dressing 374 (93.5%). The
major strategies identified for preventing sexual violence include severe punishment for
perpetuators/offenders (100%), adherence to dress code of the school (99.0%), mass campaigns
against sexual violence (98.5%), enact laws prohibiting pornography (98.5%), avoid late night
outing/party (97%), provision of adequate security on campus and avoid walking alone on lonely
path (96.5%)
Description
Keywords
Sexual violence factors, Sexual Violence mitigation, Undergraduates