Child sexual abuse: A review of cases seen at General Hospital Suleja, Niger State

Background : Sexual abuse of children is a global health and human rights problem that has been largely underreported and understudied in sub-Saharan Africa. Little is therefore known regarding information on the nature of child sexual abuse and the predisposing factors in our communities. Objective : To study the demographic features of individuals involved in sexual abuse and the pattern of presentation of cases at the General Hospital Suleja, Niger state. Materials and Methods : The study is a retrospective analysis of case records of patients who presented to the Out Patient Department of General Hospital Suleja. All cases of sexual abuse seen over an 18 month period from 1 st January 2007 to 30 th June 2008 were reviewed. Data obtained were analysed in Epi-Info software version 3.04 and results presented as percentages, contingency tables, and charts. Results : A total of 81 cases of sexual abuse were recorded over the period of review where children (77 cases) accounted for 95.1% of the cases. There were 41 cases of sexual abuse seen in 2007, while 40 cases were documented within the first half of 2008. All the victims of sexual abuse were girls and all the perpetrators were males of whom six adolescent boys constituted 7.6%. There was no documentation on evaluation and management of sexually transmitted infections, HIV infection, emergency contraception, or scheduled follow-up. Conclusion : The incidence of reported child sexual abuse is on the increase in our communities. There is a need for studies on the predisposing factors to inform policy and preventive strategies as well as efforts to build the capacity of public health systems and care providers to manage cases reporting to our health care facilities.