Exposure to Parental Violence and Self-Reported Sexual Violence among Unpartnered Adolescent Girls in Nigeria: Evidence from a National Survey

Abstract

Objectives

Despite the high prevalence of sexual violence among young and adolescent women in Nigeria, there is a paucity of studies on the extent of sexual violence among adolescent girls, especially unpartnered girls, and the role of parental violence. This study assesses the prevalence of self-reported sexual violence and the influence of exposure to parental violence among unpartnered adolescent girls (aged 15–19) in Nigeria.

Methods

The women’s data (n = 5,145) from the 2013 and 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys were pooled and analyzed with descriptive analysis and multinomial logistic regressions.

Results

Of all adolescent girls, 5.65% had ever experienced sexual violence, 94.09% said they never did, and 0.26% did not respond. Adolescent Girls exposed to parental violence were more likely to have ever experienced sexual violence than the unexposed girls (aRRR= 1.90; 95% CI: 1.29–2.79).

Conclusion

Interventions to prevent sexual violence among adolescent girls should sensitize parents on the potential negative implications of parental violence for their daughters’ wellbeing.

Keywords:

• Parental violence
• adolescent girls
• sexual violence
• Nigeria

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflict of interests. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.