S. SIKA-BRIGHT, C. C. P. NNOROM
Copyright © 2013 SciRe s . 251
and adults, their parents will trust the adults. This again re-
emphasizes why majority of them would agree to watch porno-
graphic films if recommended by an adult.
The children interviewed also reported that they feel insecure
to discuss their sexual issues with their parents. Culturally sex
and all related issues are viewed as sinful so long as it is ex-
pressed by a child. As such sex has remained a secret act for
children since they don’t want their parents and guardians to
label them as bad. This confirms a study by Bammeke and
Nnorom (2008) and also supports the symbolic interactionist
idea of how symbols are created which influences perception
and behaviour. Sex as a symbol is labelled as secret and sinful
when engaged in at certain ages. As such it has influenced how
children perceive sexual issues and consequently influences
how they behave when sexually abused.
The study also found out that the perception children have
about CSA is an act that is not only limited to children from
poor homes but also those from reputable home. This indicates
that child sexual abuse happens to all children, irrespective of
their social background. The respondents again were quick to
admit that they know other children who had been sexually
abused. Sexual abuse among school children has been brought
to the fore by many studies (see Leach et al., 2003; Brown,
2002) and this study contributes its quota to the discourse.
Summary and Conclusion
The study has so far attempted to explore the perception of
children about child sexual abuse. The study found out among
others that children are aware of child sexual abuse, and their
main sources of information about child sexual abuse were their
teachers and parents. They believed that fondling, kissing, in-
sertion of objects into the body, and having sex with an adult
constituted child sexual abuse. Though they held the belief that
watching of pornographic pictures and movies with an adult
was not good, many of the respondents never saw anything
wrong with it. They also were of the view that people who sex-
ually abuse children are mostly family members and friends,
and they carry out this activity mostly at night, when the child
is alone and when the child is outside the home. They believed
that their parents and guardians will not take them serious when
it comes to complaints about child sexual abuse, and they are
unlikely to talk freely with their parents about sex. The study
concludes that though children have fair knowledge about child
sexual abuse, there is still a lot to be done to really expose chil-
dren with what CSA is and what constitutes CSA.
In line with the discussion above, the study therefore rec-
ommends:
That the Ministry of Education should stress issues of CSA
in the curriculum of basic schools so as to keep children in-
formed appropriately since the study found teachers to be
one of children’s sources of information on CSA.
That issues about how to redress injustices should be em-
phasized by the Ministry.
That parents should discuss sexual issues with their children
and also allow them to talk freely about their sexual con-
cerns. This will enable parents and guardians to identify and
prevent any sexual abuse among their children.
That further studies should be conducted on a large scale to
not only explore children’s perception but also examine
their sexual activities so as to appreciate what children
really think and go through as far as sexual abuse is con-
cerned.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the head teachers and other teachers for
their immense support during the study. Our sincere thanks go
to the pupils of the various schools we visited for the study. We
sincerely thank the staff and research assistants at the Depart-
ment of Soc iol ogy a nd Ant hro polo gy, Un ive rsity of Cape Co ast
for their support.
REFERENCES
Arata, C. M. (1998). To tell or not to tell: Current functioning of child
sexual abuse survivors who disclosed their victimization. Child Mal-
treatment: Journal of the American Professional Society on the
Abuse of Children, 3, 63-71.
Bailey, K. D. (2001). Systems theory. In J. Turner (Ed.), Handbook of
sociological theory (pp. 131-154). Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Bammeke, F., & Nnorom, C. C. P. (2008). Adolescent sexuality educa-
tion and the cost of conspiracy of silence: Lessons from Nigeria. The
International Journal of Interdisciplinary S ocial Sciences, 3, 67-74.
Baron, R., Burgess, M., & Kao, C. (1991). Detecting and labeling pre-
judice: Do female perpetrators go undetected? Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin, 17, 115-123.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/014616729101700201
Briere, J. (1992). Methodological issues in the study of sexual abuse
effects. Journal of Consultingand Clinical Psychology, 60, 196-203.
Brown, C. K. (2002). A study on sexual abuse in schools in Ghana.
Cape Coast: University of Cape Coast/UNICEF Ghana.
Dawes, R. M. (1988). Rational choice in an uncertain world. New
York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Davis, J. L., & Petretic-Jackson, P. A. (2000). The impact of child
sexual abuse on adult interpersonal functioning: A review and syn-
thesis of the empirical literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 5,
291-328. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1359-1789(99)00010-5
Draucker, C. B., & Martsolf, D. S. (2006). Counselling survivors of
childhood sexual abuse . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Finkelhor, D. (1986). A sourcebook on child sexual abuse. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Follette, V. M., & Pistorello, J. (1995). Couples therapy. In C. Classen,
& I. D. Yalom (Eds.), Treating women molested in childhood (pp.
129-161). San F ransisco, CA: Jossey-Bas s .
Galenson, E., & Rophie, H. (1974). The emergence of genital aware-
ness during the second year of life. In R. C. Friedman (Ed.), Sex dif-
ferences in behaviour. New York: Wiley.
Ghana News Agency (2011). C ape coast metropolis in retrospect.
wwww.ghanadistricts.com/districts/?news&r=3&_=50
Hanson, R. F., Saunders, H. S., Saunders, B. E., Kilpatrick, D. G., &
Best, C. (1999). Factors related to the reporting of childhood rape.
Child Abuse & Neglect, 23, 559-569.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(99)00028-9
Himelein, M. J., & McElrath, J. V. (1996). Resilient child sexual abuse
survivors: Cognitive coping and illation. Child Abuse & Neglect, 20,
747-758. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0145-2134(96)00062-2
Johnson, S. M., & Williams-Keeler, L. (1998). Creating healing rela-
tionships for couplesdealing with trauma: The use of emotionally
focused marital therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 24,
25-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.1998.tb01061.x
Karp, D. A., & Yoels, W. C. (1993). Sociology in everyday life (2nd
ed.). Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock Publishers.
Kendler, K. S., Kuhn, J., & Prescott, C. (2004). Childhood sexual abuse,
stressful life events and risk for major depression in women. Psy-
chological Medicine, 34, 1475-1482.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S003329170400265X
Krug, E., Dahlberg, L., Mercy, J., Zwi, A., & Lozano, R. (2002). World
report on violence and health. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Leach, F., Fiscian, F., Kadzamira, E., Lemani, E., & Machakanja, P.
(2003). An investigative study of the abuse of girls in African schools.
London: DFID.
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/investudyafricaedpaper54