Prevalence and pattern of sexual assault in Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
BACKGROUND
Sexual violence is an important public health problem of growing concern all over the world. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and pattern of sexual assault managed in Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital Sokoto, Nigeria.


METHODS
It was a retrospective study that looked into cases of sexual assault admitted into the hospital between January 2010 and December 2014. Information on patients' biodata, and relevant details on the cases were extracted from the patients' case files and analyzed.


RESULTS
Out of the 5317 gynecological admissions during the period under study, 45 (0.84%) were cases of sexual assault. Of these, only 34 case files were available for data extraction. The patients' ages ranged from 2 to 37 years (mean = 12.6 + 8.3). About two thirds (61.8%) of those affected were young children (aged 12 years and below). In majority of cases (70.6%) the assault was penetrative, and in most of the cases (91.2%) only a single assailant was involved. In close to two thirds of cases, the assailant was either an acquaintance (38.2%) or a family member (20.6%). Although law enforcement agents were informed in majority (58.8%) of cases, arrests were made in less than half (41.2%).


CONCLUSIONS
Although the prevalence of sexual assault in this study appears to be low, a major cause for concern is the fact that those affected were predominantly young children. Parents should be more vigilant in monitoring their children's movement, and stringent laws should be enacted and enforced to curb this heinous act.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Mairo
M
Hassan
Department of Community Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Kehinde Joseph
KJ
Awosan
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Abubakar Abubakar
AA
Panti
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Sadiya
S
Nasir
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Karima
K
Tunau
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Amina Gambo
AG
Umar
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Constance Egondu
CE
Shehu
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Aeron Eze
AE
Ukwu
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Bilal
B
Sulaiman
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011902:Rape / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
Prevalence; Sokoto; UDUTH; pattern; sexual assault