Risk Factors of Sexual Abuse among School going Children in Primary Schools in Kisumu County, Kenya

Child sexual abuse is a public health problem with negative physical, mental, behavioral and learning outcomes to survivors. Recent Kenya Demographic Health Survey showed that 22% of women and 13% of men in western Kenya have experienced sexual abuse compared to 14% women and 6% men nationally. Its burden, predisposing factors and, sources of or reasons for differential exposure for boys are yet unclear. Whereas schools have a major influence on a child’s development and behavior, they have been identified as important settings where child sexual abuse might occur. However, how sexual abuse is patterned by type and location of school remains an open question. The present study investigated risk factors of sexual abuse among school-going children in primary schools in Kisumu County. Using a cross-sectional study design and guided by the ecological model, the study determined association between type of school and sexual abuse; association between location of school and sexual abuse, and spaces that predispose school-going children to sexual abuse in primary schools. A sample of 398 pupils aged between 10 – 16 years randomly identified participants from 37 pre-selected primary schools in Kisumu Central and Kisumu West sub-Counties was used. The schools had been stratified by location (rural and urban) and type (public or private, boarding or day). Parental permission was sought for respective pupils to participate in the study. Data from pupils was collected using self-administered questionnaires and focus group discussions, and key informant interviews from guidance and counseling teachers. The mean age of participants was 13 years. More pupils attended day schools than boarding schools (88% versus 12%; p= 0.017). Forced sex (29%) was the most common type of sexual abuse. More girls than boys had ever experienced any type of sexual abuse 29% versus 20%; p=0.038. Whereas there was no statistical difference in pupils’ experience of sexual abuse by type and location of school x2= 2.044; p>0.05 and x2= 0.823 p>0.05, pupils thought that attending public day schools is associated with higher risk for sexual abuse mainly while walking to and from home. Pupils cited bushes inside school (52%), latrines/toilets (51%) and bushes outside school (50%) as spaces where one is more likely to experience sexual abuse. Being a female pupil was the most significant risk factor for sexual abuse in the primary schools surveyed. This indicates that gendered predisposition plays an important role in occurrence of sexual abuse in primary schools. Though not statistically significant in this study, it is plausible that risky spaces and type of schools might modify female gender predisposition in subtler ways as suggested from the pupils’ perspectives. There is need for a gendered focus in a complex primary schooling environment