Abstract:
This study was conducted to assess people’s awareness, patterns,
community responses and factors for child sexual abuse and exploitation in
Jimma and Agaro town. Survey, key informant interview and case studies
were used to collect the information required for the study. The data
collected was analyzed using percentages and case studies under themes
developed based on the research objectives. The findings of the study
revealed that eighty nine percent of the respondents are aware of the
existence of child sexual abuse in their community and more than half of
them have identified sexual intercourse with children, child pornography and
child genital stimulation as child sexual abuses. Both girls and boys can be
exposed to child sexual abuse; however, girls are more vulnerable to child
sexual abuses than boys. In terms of their backgrounds, street children,
orphans and children of the poor families are mainly vulnerable to child
sexual abuse. Children are sexually abused in their home, in the community
and in organizations as the findings from the case studies and key informant
interviews indicated. Death of parents, family poverty and the subsequent
inability to fulfill the necessary basic needs for children; abusers’ perception
about sexual affairs with children is safe as they think children are free from
HIV/AIDS, lack of appropriate care and follow up for children are the major
factors for child sexual abuse. Moreover, the fact that the poor families and
their girl children are easily cheated by gifts in cash and in kind from abusers
also make children of such families more vulnerable to sexual abuses than
others. The police and the court have been making efforts to punish the
offenders. However, the measures ever taken are not adequate when
compared with the injury afflict on the children by the offenders.Therefore, strengthening the family economic capacity through income
generating activities, families’ close follow up of the daily safety of their
children, reunification of the street children to their families/relatives and
introduction of mechanisms to investigate cases of child abuses by the court
in order to take balanced corrective measures on offenders are recommended
based the findings.
