ABSTRACT
Background: Sexual coercion involves a range of tactics used to elicit sexual activity from unwilling partners, from verbal pressure to physical force, and is a significant public health issue. It can occur in various forms, including manipulation, threats, and abuse of authority, and affects both men and women, with psychological, emotional, and physical consequences. Research highlights its prevalence in familiar settings, often linked to alcohol use, and driven by societal factors like gender stereotypes and power dynamics. Preventive measures include comprehensive sex education, self-defense training, policy changes, and fostering open communication to address the issue at its roots. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude, prevalence, patterns of sexual coercion among nursing students in University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria with the purpose of enhancing our collective understanding and making recommendations for the prevention of sexual coercion among nursing students. Subjects and methods: A descriptive cross sectional study design was carried out among 559 nursing students of University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Edo State. Respondents were selected using the multi-stage sampling technique. Self-administered questionnaires were utilized for the study. Data was analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and categorical data was presented in frequency tables. Chi-square test was used to examine the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics, respondents, knowledge, attitude and prevalence of sexual coercion. Statistical significance was set at p <0.05 Results: The mean age of respondents was 23.43 ± 3.7 years and 500 (89.4%) were females. Awareness of sexual coercion was 95.0%. Good knowledge of sexual coercion was (60.0%) negative attitude towards sexual coercion was (71.1%). Life time and recent prevalence of sexual coercion was 142 (25.4%) and 82 (14.7%) respectively. Factors influencing sexual coercion was older age, (OR = 0.868 CI = 0.772- 0.976, p = 0.018) ever married, (OR = 22.399 CI = 5.159 – 97.246, p = <0.001) educational level, 0.296 (OR = 0.296 CI = 0.087 – 1.002, p = 0.050) department, (OR = 0.192 CI = 0.059 – 0.626, p = 0.006) (residents off campus (OR = 12.260 CI = 2.025 – 74.224, p = 0.006), negative attitude 3.332 (OR = 3.332 CI = 1.881- 5.902, p <0.001) Conclusion; There is good knowledge of sexual coercion, negative attitude towards sexual coercion. The prevalence of sexual coercion is about two-fifth of the population. Older age, marital status, address, department, educational level and negative attitude were significant factors influencing sexual coercion. There’s a need for educating students on sexual coercion, consent, and respectful relationships for students. Keywords; sexual coercion, knowledge, attitudes, prevalence, patterns, nursing, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Edo State.
