ABSTRACT
Non-Consensual Sex (NCS) encompasses a range of behaviours including unwanted
sexually motivated touch, attempted rape, rape and non-contact forms of sexual abuse
such as forced viewing of pornography. It is a major cause of reproductive health
problems such as unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and sexually transmitted
infections. In Nigeria, previous studies on NCS largely focused on adolescents in
secondary schools. More studies on the experiences among students in tertiary institutions
need to be carried out to highlight the burden in these young adults. This study was aimed
at determining the experiences of NCS among students of The Polytechnic Ibadan.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 594 students who were selected from the
four halls of residence in The Polytechnic Ibadan using a four-stage random sampling
technique. Quantitative data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire which
explored respondents’ demographic characteristics, sexual behaviour, experiences of NCS
during the six months preceding the study and help-seeking behaviour. Qualitative data
were collected using In-Depth Interview (IDI) of fourteen consenting victims of NCS.
Descriptive statistics, Chi-square and logistic regression were used to analyse the
quantitative data with level of significance set at 0.05 while the qualitative data were
analysed using thematic approach.
Mean age of respondents was 22.7 ± 2.9 years and 58.9% were females. Fifty-six percent
of respondents had experienced sexual intercourse and the mean age of sexual debut was
19.6 ± 3.2 years. Thirty three percent of the respondents had experienced at least a form of
NCS and out of these, 61.7% were females. Forms of NCS experienced by respondents
included unwanted touch of breast or back side (18.0%), forced viewing of pornography
(4.5%), attempted rape (7.4%) and rape (4.0%). Rape victims consisted of 54.2% females
and 45.8% males. Out of those who were sexually experienced, 9.0% reported that their
first sexual intercourse was due to rape. Respondents with a history of alcohol use (OR =
1.5, 95% CI = 1.03-2.23) and those who had a friend of the opposite sex (OR = 7.5, 95%
CI = 1.75-31.8) were more likely to report the experience of any form of NCS.
Significantly, males who had ever drunk alcohol reported the experience of unwanted
touch than those who had never (21.5% vs 9.5%). Well known friends of the victims were
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the major perpetrators of all forms of NCS; unwanted touch (93.0%), forced viewing of
pornography (95.4%), attempted rape (92.8%) and rape (76.5%). Female rape victims
reported that lecturers were the perpetrators (23.0%) and they did not seek help (82.4%).
This was corroborated by the IDI results which showed that the only person who sought
help among females visited a patent medicine seller. In-depth interview also revealed that
most of the victims were raped at the perpetrator’s residence and the perpetrators were
their acquaintances.
Non-consensual sex remains a social problem among the target population. However,
attempt to seek help was a rare practice. This underscores the need to develop health
education programmes that will enable polytechnic students to prevent the phenomenon
and seek help when experienced.
OLALEYE, O (2021). Experiences Of Non-Consensual Sex Among Students Of The Polytechnic Ibadan, Nigeria. Afribary. Retrieved from https://tracking.afribary.com/works/experiences-of-non-consensual-sex-among-students-of-the-polytechnic-ibadan-nigeria
OLALEYE, OLADIPUPO "Experiences Of Non-Consensual Sex Among Students Of The Polytechnic Ibadan, Nigeria" Afribary. Afribary, 22 Apr. 2021, https://tracking.afribary.com/works/experiences-of-non-consensual-sex-among-students-of-the-polytechnic-ibadan-nigeria. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
OLALEYE, OLADIPUPO . "Experiences Of Non-Consensual Sex Among Students Of The Polytechnic Ibadan, Nigeria". Afribary, Afribary, 22 Apr. 2021. Web. 28 Nov. 2024. < https://tracking.afribary.com/works/experiences-of-non-consensual-sex-among-students-of-the-polytechnic-ibadan-nigeria >.
OLALEYE, OLADIPUPO . "Experiences Of Non-Consensual Sex Among Students Of The Polytechnic Ibadan, Nigeria" Afribary (2021). Accessed November 28, 2024. https://tracking.afribary.com/works/experiences-of-non-consensual-sex-among-students-of-the-polytechnic-ibadan-nigeria