GIRL CHILD ABUSE AND ITS EFFECTS ON THEIR HEALTH AS ADULTS: A STUDY OF UDENU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Effect of child abuse can last for a long time. One of the critical consequences of child abuse is how it impacts on the child’s health especially the girl child who always fall victim more than the boy child. It interferes with the foundation a child needs to be successful throughout their life career. This study centers on girl child abuse and its effect their health as adults using Udenu Local Government Area as study area of Enugu state. The population of this study consists of adults aged 18 years and above. Cross- sectional survey design was adopted. The sample size consists of 149 respondents selected through multi- stage sampling techniques. Questionnaire was the instrument for used data collection. Data collected from the respondents were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) while Chi square was used for testing the hypotheses. Findings revealed that majority of the respondents indicated that major forms of child abuse in the area are; physical abuse, verbal abuse, child neglect and sexual abuse. There is high prevalence of child abuse among the girl child than the boy child, there is a statistical relationship between income levels and child abuse. The study recommended that there should be public engagement and education campaigns by educationists, government and NGOs, and also government implementation of policies against child abuse especially among the girl child.