Abstract:
Sexual abuse among children and teenagers, which is a worldwide problem, is increasing in Rwanda. The magnitude varies between 2 to 26%. However, experts believe that the true figure is always unknown because many cases are not reported. Sexual abuse can lead to far reaching consequences. Efforts are made to increase the public awareness and in establishing mechanisms necessary to protect potential victims and punish perpetrators. However, given the complexity of the problem and available challenges, all risk factors are still unexplained.
Methods: this is a cross-sectional study design that involved 400 school teenagers; data analysis comprised descriptive and statistical test for association.
Results: Teenagers of 16 years and above are 2 times higher at risk of being abused [OR: 2.14, CI: 1.39; 3.29, p<.001***]. For sex, female are 2 times higher at risk of being abused compared to their fellow male [OR: 2.052, CI: 1.29; 3.25, p<.002***]. When it comes to residence, results show that staying in rural area protect victims against sexual abuse compared to those who stays in Urban Zone [OR: .345, CI.22; .52, p<.001***]. The results on the effects of where teenagers stays in relationship to the risk of being abused show that those who stays with relatives are five times higher at risks of being abused compared to the fellows who stays with their parents [OR:5.312, : 2.45; 11.51, p<.001***] Conclusion: The results from this study confirm that sexual abuse among school teenagers exists.
