Experience, Help Seeking Behaviour, and Perceived Self-Efficacy to Prevent Sexual Coercion among Female Secondary Schools Students in Ibadan, Nigeria

Sexual coercion (SC) is a major public health problem with short- and long-term reproductive and mental health consequences among survivors. This study assessed the experience, help-seeking behaviour, and perceived self-efficacy to prevent SC among female secondary school students in Akinyele Local Government Area (LGA), Oyo State, Nigeria. The descriptive cross-sectional survey involved 399 consenting students who were interviewed using a 43-item questionnaire that explored respondents’socio-demographic characteristics, experience of SC(physical,sexual, and psychological form), help seeking behaviour and perceived self-efficacy to prevent SC. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and Chi- square analysis. Respondents’ mean age was 15+1.4 years. Ten percent of the respondents have had sex; the majority of those sexually experienced reported that their sexual debut was non-consensual. More than half (59.1%) of the entire students had experienced at least one form of SC, 16.4% had experienced the three forms of SC; 7.3% had been raped. Most survivors of SC revealed that the perpetrators were close persons (friends) and most incidents of SC occurred in schools. More than half of the survivors did not seek help either during (56.8%) or after (53.8%) the incident of coercion. The study also found an association between confidence level, and lifetime experiences of SC (p<0.05). SC is a common experience among secondary school students. Appropriate multiple interventions including training of students via peer, teacher and parent-led approaches as well as actions at policy levels are recommended to address this challenge.