Abstract:
BACKGROUND: The professional role of primary school teachers in school-based programs makes
them important stakeholders in child sexual abuse prevention. OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge, attitude
and practices of primary school teachers on primary prevention of child sexual abuse in Agege Local Government
Area of Lagos State. METHODS: Cross-sectional design that utilized a two-stage cluster sampling technique was
used to select 463 public primary school teachers in Agege Local Government of Lagos State. A self-administered
questionnaire was used to obtain information on respondents’ socio-demographic profile, knowledge, attitude and
practices on primary prevention of child sexual abuse. Data were analysed using SPSS version 23. Descriptive
statistics, Chi-square test and multivariate regression analysis were done. Statistical significance was set at 5%.
RESULTS: The mean age of the teachers was 46.4±6.5 years and the majority (70.8%) were females. Adequate
knowledge of primary prevention of child sexual abuse was found among 14.3% of respondents. 12.7% had a
positive attitude towards primary prevention of child sexual abuse and good practice on primary prevention of child
sexual abuse was found among 82.5% of the teachers. The male teachers were found to be about 2 times more likely
to have adequate knowledge compared to female teachers (OR 1.9; 95% CI= 1.05-3.73) and were about 4 times
more likely to have a good practice on primary prevention of child sexual abuse (OR 3.5; 95% CI= 1.71 – 6.97).
CONCLUSION: The knowledge and attitude of primary teachers on the primary prevention of child sexual abuse
in Lagos State was low.