Predisposing Factors Causing Sexual Abuse among School Going Adolescents: A Case Study of Empopongi Slum in Narok County

Abstract

Sexual abuse among adolescents has become rampant. It occurs at all levels of society and affects not only school children but even street children in both rural and urban areas. The purpose of this study therefore was to find out the predisposing factors causing sexual abuse among adolescents in Empopongi Slum in Narok. The study was based on three objectives; determine the prevalence of predisposing factors, investigate the relationship between predisposing factors and social demographic data, and determining the causes of predisposing factors. Both stratified random sampling method and simple random sampling were used to select the respondents to ensure that the sample was representative. The study utilized descriptive survey design. The sample size of the study was 154 adolescents from two primary schools in Empopongi Slum, Narok. Data was collected using questionnaires. The data from the completed questionnaires was coded, entered and cleaned into a computer using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 21 for analysis. The findings indicated that drug and substance abuse among parents and the respondents rendered adolescents vulnerable to sexual abuse. Additionally, findings showed that most of the sexual abuse that takes place among adolescents is not often reported. It was therefore recommended that there was a crucial need for the society to understand the predisposing factors of sexual abuse among adolescents in order to mitigate it.