Why Do Men Sexually Abuse Young Girls? Getting This Priority Right from the Voice of Male Citizens in Ibadan, Nigeria
摘要
Sexual abuse of young girls remains a prominent international concern. It is a pandemic that affects the physical and mental well-being of women and young girls across the globe. Reports of sexual abuse have become a regular fixture of Nigerian media; this speaks to its alarming prevalence and severity in the country. While several empirical studies have examined and continue to examine the factors promulgating sexual abuse and its dynamics in Nigeria, there is a paucity of literature investigating the perception of men and exploring solutions from their perspective. As such, this study examined men’s perceptions of the reasons why the sexual abuse of women has become an alarming reality in Nigeria. Adopting a qualitative research design, with a semi-structured in-depth interview, data was painstakingly collected from a group of twenty men in Ibadan North-East Local Government. A feminist framework was adopted as a theoretical underpinning for the study. Findings indicate that there is an overall knowledge of young girls’ sexual abuse among the sampled population; these men agreed that the abuse of women is a major social problem that requires attention.