The profile of children and adolescents aged below 19 years presenting with sexual abuse in Kenyatta national hospital

Abstract

Background Cases of child sexual abuse are on an increase in our African set-up. Awareness of the problem and knowledge of its manifestations is essential. Outlining of the profile of sexually abused children will show the high risk population in the community and help in educating parents, teachers, children and the community. Objectives Primary objective To describe the characteristics of children aged below 19 years presenting with sexual abuse in Kenyatta National Hospital. Secondary objectives 1. To establish factors associated with child sexual abuse. 2. To establish the degree of injury in sexually abused children seen in Kenyatta National Hospital. Study design Cross sectional study Study population Children aged below 19 years presenting with sexual abuse in Kenyatta National Hospital. Study site Kenyatta National Hospital Study participants One hundred and five (105) Study period August 2013 to December 2014 Study procedure Consecutive sampling of sexually abused children below 19 years until the sample size was reached. A questionnaire was administered to those who fit the criteria. Results The mean age of sexually abused children presenting in Kenyatta National Hospital is 11.1 years with the youngest being 2 years old. 83.3% of the sexually abused children were females with a female to male ratio of 5:1. Lack of supervision during play and poor social economic status are factors associated with child sexual abuse.