Prevalence and Forms of Sexual Harassment of Girls by Male Students of Secondary Schools in Ohafia LGA, Abia State

Abstract

The study investigated prevalence and forms of sexual harassment of girls by male students of secondary schools in Ohafia Local Government Area-LGA, Abia State. Five specific objectives with corresponding research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. The cross-sectional survey research design was used for the study. The multi-stage sampling procedure was used to draw a sample of 600 out of 2,400 girls who enrolled in secondary schools during 2011/2012 academic session. Two instruments were used for data collection: A researcher-designed instrument titled Questionnaire on Prevalence and Forms of Sexual Harassment of Girls (QPFSHG) and Sexual Harassment of Girls Focus Group Discussion Guide (SHGFGDG). Split-half method was used to determine the reliability of the entire instrument (QPFSHG) using Spearman-Brown correction formula statistic. Also, Kuder-Richardson-20 formula was used to establish the inter-item reliability coefficient of the subscale which had nominal data. The reliability coefficient obtained for the subscale was .77. The data collected were analyzed using frequency and percentage. The hypotheses were tested using Chi-square (χ 2) statistic at .05 level of significance. Based on the findings, the researchers recommended among others that the school authority should establish an office for reporting cases of sexual harassment where confidentiality should be entrenched to encourage victims to lodge complaints and also, there is need to educate girls about sexuality, and human rights. Furthermore, commensurate punitive actions should be taken against sexual harassment offenders when convicted to serve as deterrence to other male students.

Attitude and Perception as Associated Risk Factors of Sexual Harassment of Secondary School Girls in Abak Lga, Akwa Ibom State

“…Statistic by National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) (2002) and United Nation (2015) shows that worldwide, 15 million adolescent girls have experience sexual harassment. Women are usually victims and bear the overwhelming burden of sexual harassment (Andrews et al, 2004;Uduma et al, 2015) not only because they comprise the vast majority of victims but also because they are vulnerable to sexual and reproductive health consequences such as unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and a higher risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, during vaginal intercourse (Smit & Plessis, 2011). In most cases, victims of sexual harassment are usually women, while men are the perpetrators.…”