Citation

Afe TO, Ogunsemi O. Violence Gend. 2017; 4(1): 17-24.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/vio.2015.0013

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The study investigated social distancing toward victims of sexual violence among college students in Lagos, Nigeria. It was a cross-sectional descriptive survey using self-administered questionnaires. Two hundred and thirty students were surveyed from two higher institutions in Nigeria over a 4-month period (March to July 2013), 62.6% (144) of the participants were not willing to be socially close to individuals who experienced sexual violence in situations that involved family relationships, while 68.7% (158) would not consider dating or getting married to individuals who experienced sexual violence. Significant differences in views were expressed between the younger and older age groups in situations that required family ties and dating relationships. A higher percentage of those in the younger age group (68%) would feel ashamed if the individual was a member of the family, while 46% of those in the older age group expressed similar view. In considering dating, 82% of those in the younger age group would not date individuals who experienced sexual violence while 64% of those in the older age group expressed similar view. Differences in views were observed along marital status in situations that involved social closeness in conversations, dating, and maintaining friendly relationships with individuals with a history of sexual violence. Our study showed that although majority of college students were willing to maintain friendly relations with individuals with history of sexual violence, they were more socially distancing in situations that involved intimate and close family contacts. There is a need to help bridge social distancing toward individuals who experienced sexual violence among college students in Lagos, Nigeria.

Language: en