CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study:
There has been a growing increase in child abuse, especially sexual abuse and its attendant teenage pregnancy, [UNICEF 1995]. Child abuse can be seen as harm to, or neglect of a child by another person, such a harm or abuse may be cause by parents, teachers, peers or any other significant person[s] in the child’s life, [Eya, 2002]. According to Hopper, [2004], child abuse can be physical, psychological or sexual. Sexual abuse according to Dutton [1994] is any unwanted sexual intimacy forced on an individual by another.
This includes oral or vaginal stimulation or penetration forced nudity, forced exposure to sexually explicit material or activity or any unwanted activity. This is usually done or achieved through force or coercion and may result in teenage pregnancy in some cases.Teenagers are children between the ages of 13-19. (lsangedighi, 1996, ogbebor, 1994) The consequences of sexual abuse and its attendant teen pregnant are drastic and have an adverse effect on the teen mothers, their babies and the society at large. The teen mothers as “babies making babies” experience unwanted, emotional, harmful traumatic sexual experiences, as well as pregnancy experiences in childhood and also the problem of raising their babies alone, (Eya, 2002).
Wolpe (2004) opined that sexual abuse and exposure to events that are so extreme, severe and threatening can cause traumatic stress in children and adolescents and at the same time cause considerable interpersonal and academic / occupational problems. On the other hand, babies of teen mothers as a result of poverty. Ignorance and secrecy usually have lower birth weight. (Dutton 1994). They also are prone to mare childhood illness, more infant mortality, poorer medial care and suffer more delayed development. Sexual abuse, according to UNICEF, (1997), is wide spread, and occurs in different countries of the world. It has not only constituted a social problem, but in addition led the pregnant teenagers through the slippery terrain of abortion, abandonment and dumping their new born babies in gutters out of frustration, shame and guilt and there by resulting in increase in death rate and infant mortality.
Many factors contribute to sexual abuse such as poverty, marital dysfunction, rape, curiosity, child labor and human trafficking, (Hopper 2004). Research has shown that marital dysfunction is a major contributory factor of sexual abuse (Eya, 2002). A dysfunctional family is a family in conflicts, Justin (2004) quoting Scanoz (1965), saw marital conflict as “ dissension between marital partners over values, beliefs, goals, norms and behavior which make up the structure of the nuclear unit”. The conflict could be in the area of decision making, child rearing pattern, finance, religion and power control. Many teenage mothers are from either broken homes or homes with marital conflict. Justin (2004). This research is carried out to investigate the relationship between marital dysfunction and sexual abuse.