Abstract:
Background-Child sexual abuse is a major concern of society because the physical and mental
harm endured by children is extremely destructive. Besides the limited number of studies
undertaken in Ethiopia with regard to childhood sexual abuse so far, little is known about child
sexual abuse within our study area of interest. Therefore, this study is aimed at assessing the
prevalence of childhood sexual abuse experiences and its associated factors among female high
school students in Arba minch town, Gammo Goffa zone.
Methods and materials: For the quantitative part, school based cross sectional study was
conducted from March 03 to 08 2014 among 362 grade ten female high school students in
Arbaminch town. A pretested, structured self-administered questionnaire and in-depth interview
guide were used. The presence of association was assessed using bivariate test. Multi-variable
logistic regression was used to control confounding effects and the strength of association was
expressed in odds ratio and its 95% confidence interval. For the qualitative approach 14 key
informant in-depth interviews were selected purposively and data was analysed based on the
thematic areas.
Result: The prevalence of life time rape among school adolescents in Arbaminch town was
found to be 11%. The odds of experiencing life time rape was higher among students who lived
alone (AOR=4.30; 95%CI: 1.81, 10.24) and among students who live with their friends (AOR=
3.31; 95%CI: 1.23, 8.89) than those living with their parents. The chance of experiencing rape
among students who had no open discussion with their parents about sexuality and reproductive
health matters was higher (AOR=2.93; 95%CI: 1.33, 6.45) than those who had discussion.
Conclusion and recommendations: This study revealed high level of rape among Arbaminch
town high school female students. Ever had discussion, living arrangement of the student, and
monthly income had statistically significant association with childhood sexual abuse. Unwanted
pregnancy and abortion were the most common outcomes of rape. Comprehensive school based
reproductive health education, community based awareness creation, open discussion about
sexuality and reproductive health matters with students at family level are recommended.
