Victimization and Perpetration of Rape Among High School Students in a Major State in Nigeria: Prevalence and Associations

Background: Adolescents and youths in Nigeria are at high risk for victimization of rape. A survey reported victimization rate of 31.4% for females and 5.7% for males (Positive Action for Treatment Access, 2013; Global Health Action, 2014). Adolescents are not merely victims of rape; they do victimize each other too. From a recent study 6% of adolescent males disclosed perpetrating rape and designated half of the female victims as partners (Ogunfowokan et al., 2016). Despite the prevalence of rape and peer violence, knowledge about factors associated with perpetration and victimization is limited. Deluge of recent studies attribute the associated factors to victimization experience (Schuster et al., 2016; Swedo et al., 2019), high level of gender inequality (Kearns et al., 2020), and patriarchal gender attitudes (Karmaliani et al., 2017). Yet, empirical questions about the associations among adolescents in Nigeria remain unanswered. The present study examined the association between exposures and experience of sexual violence, beliefs about violence against women, victimization, perpetration, and threat of rape among high school students in a major state in Nigeria.

Method: A convenience sample of 857 senior students from 15 high schools and six education districts completed a survey that included victimization and perpetration of sexual violence. There were more female (n = 441, 51.5%) than male (n = 416, 48.5%) students. The mean age was 15.57 years (SD=1.29). The questionnaire included questions about exposure to sexual violence, whether they have ever been raped, whether they have ever raped someone, and whether they have ever threatened someone with rape. Response choices were “Yes or No”. Descriptive analysis was used to examine the prevalence and logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with perpetration and threat of rape.

Results: Some students (n = 94, 11.6%) reported that someone of the opposite sex has used force to make them partake in sexual activities. Some (n = 136, 16.8%) also stated that someone of the opposite sex has insisted on sex without physical force. Slightly over nine percent (n = 75, 9.3%) reported that someone has used threats to make them partake in sexual activities. Results of logistic regression analysis indicated that ever being pressured for sex without physical force (OR = 7.16, p =.031, 95% [CI 1.19, 43.01]), victimization of rape (OR = 13.98, p =.036, 95% [CI 1.19, 164.61]), and ever threatened someone with rape (OR = 34.06, p =.004, 95% [CI 3.17, 365.78]) were associated with perpetration of rape. Similarly, ever being threatened with rape (OR = 35.62, p < .0005, 95% [CI 4.81, 263.65]), perpetration of rape (OR = 70.04, p < .0005, 95% [CI 9.64, 509.11]), and proviolence attitudes against women (OR = 3.93, p = .027, 95% [CI 1.17, 13.22]) were associated with ever threatened someone with rape.

Conclusions and implications: Findings highlight victimization and proviolence attitudes against women as risk factors for perpetration and threat of rape among adolescents. Implications of findings for policies and intervention for reducing exposure, threat, and perpetration of sexual violence among adolescents will be highlighted.