Plan: 50% of sexual abuse occurs in schools

Accra, April 16, GNA - A report on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) in some selected schools says about 53 per cent of sexual abuse occurs in schools while 43 per cent happen at home.

"Eighty-six per cent of school children feel safer at homes than in school," research conducted by Plan Ghana, a child centred Non-Governmental Organization said on Thursday.

The research conducted in March 2008 said most of the basic and Senior High School children between the ages of 10-17 in Awutu Senya, Effutu and Upper Manya Krobo Districts had been subjected to CSA.

The report said 67 per cent of the victims of CSA were in Senior High Schools (SHS), 28 per cent are in Junior High School (JHS) and five per cent in primary school.

It noted that girls were more vulnerable to sexual abuse than boys in a ratio of 11:9 while children of 14-16 were more at risk of sexual abuse. The main factors that influenced CSA were poverty, which accounting for

35 per cent, sexual pleasure, 12 per cent, lack of parental control and care stood at 10 per cent and peer pressure influence stood at 10 per cent. It mentioned the common types of CSA that children experienced as giving sexual notes or messages, request for sexual favours, fondling, grabbing or pinching in a sexual way and display of sex photographs. In the management of cases, the report noted that only 30 per cent of CSA victims reported the incident to someone.

According to the report 70 per cent of CSA victims did not tell anyone about the incident because they felt they could handle it. Others also think they might be stigmatized while others feel they might be beaten by or punished to weed. It said about five per cent of CSA victims who had sex received cash compensation of GH¢1-25.00.

The report disclosed that 87 per cent of children did not know any institution that supported victims of CSA adding most of the institutions mandated to deal with CSA did not have adequate knowledge and resources to deal with the problem.