DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT

3 Users found this project useful

Influence of Sexual Assault Prevention Education on Sexual Violence Prevention Practices among University Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Sexual violence is an important public health and social concern that can result in serious physical, psychological, sexual, reproductive, and social consequences for affected individuals. University students may experience increased vulnerability to sexual violence because of social interactions, intimate relationships, peer influence, alcohol and substance use, power imbalances, and other factors associated with university life. Sexual assault prevention education provides students with information about sexual violence, consent, healthy relationships, risk factors, warning signs, personal safety, bystander intervention, appropriate help-seeking, and available support and reporting services. Sexual violence prevention practices refer to behaviours adopted by students to reduce the risk of sexual violence and promote safer interpersonal interactions, including respecting consent, recognizing unsafe situations, establishing personal boundaries, using appropriate bystander strategies, avoiding coercive behaviours, seeking assistance when necessary, and supporting peers to access appropriate services. In Nigeria, limited awareness, misconceptions about consent, harmful social norms, stigma, fear of reporting, peer influence, and inadequate knowledge of available support services may affect students' ability to adopt appropriate sexual violence prevention practices. Effective sexual assault prevention education may improve students' knowledge, attitudes, decision-making skills, and confidence in adopting behaviours that reduce the risk of sexual violence. Against this background, this study investigates the influence of sexual assault prevention education on sexual violence prevention practices among university students in Nigeria. The study is anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework. The Health Belief Model explains preventive behaviour through perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action, providing a basis for understanding students' adoption of sexual violence prevention practices. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes the interaction between knowledge, self-efficacy, social influences, behavioural capabilities, and environmental conditions in shaping interpersonal and preventive health behaviour. The Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework provides a basis for examining how improved knowledge and attitudes resulting from sexual assault prevention education may influence sexual violence prevention practices. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how sexual assault prevention education may influence sexual violence prevention practices among university students in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. Primary data will be collected from undergraduate students in selected universities in Nigeria using a structured anonymous self-administered questionnaire. A multistage sampling technique will be employed to select states, universities, faculties or departments, academic levels, and eligible students. Where feasible, selected student groups will be assigned to intervention and comparison groups. Students in the intervention group will receive structured sexual assault prevention education covering sexual violence, consent, healthy relationships, personal boundaries, risk factors, warning signs, bystander intervention, safe decision-making, appropriate responses to disclosures, help-seeking, reporting procedures, and available healthcare, counselling, psychosocial, and legal support services. Sexual violence prevention practices will be assessed using indicators such as respect for consent, communication of personal boundaries, recognition and avoidance of high-risk situations, appropriate bystander intervention, refusal of coercive or unwanted sexual behaviour, willingness to seek assistance, and appropriate support for peers experiencing sexual violence. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' sociodemographic characteristics, baseline knowledge, exposure to sexual assault prevention education, and sexual violence prevention practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired-sample tests, independent-sample tests, and logistic or multiple regression analysis, will be used to determine the influence of sexual assault prevention education on sexual violence prevention practices. Appropriate diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability of the research instrument, model assumptions, goodness of fit, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that sexual assault prevention education has a significant positive influence on sexual violence prevention practices among university students in Nigeria. Students exposed to structured sexual assault prevention education are expected to demonstrate improved understanding of consent, personal boundaries, risk factors, and appropriate preventive behaviours. Education may strengthen students' confidence in communicating boundaries, recognizing potentially unsafe situations, intervening safely when witnessing concerning behaviour, respecting the autonomy of others, and seeking appropriate support. It may also reduce misconceptions surrounding sexual violence and challenge harmful beliefs that may contribute to victim-blaming or normalization of coercive behaviour. However, education alone may not guarantee sustained prevention practices because students may continue to encounter barriers such as harmful social norms, peer pressure, stigma, fear of reporting, concerns about confidentiality, and inadequate institutional support. Consequently, sexual assault prevention education is expected to be most effective when supported by clear university policies, confidential reporting mechanisms, accessible support services, trained personnel, bystander programmes, and a safe institutional environment. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on sexual violence prevention, sexual and reproductive health, health education, university student health, violence prevention, gender-based violence, and public health in Nigeria by providing empirical evidence on the influence of sexual assault prevention education on sexual violence prevention practices among university students. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Universities Commission, university administrations, student health centres, counselling units, gender and social welfare services, healthcare professionals, public health practitioners, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for preventing sexual violence among young adults. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening university-based sexual violence prevention education, improving consent and healthy-relationship education, expanding bystander intervention programmes, strengthening confidential reporting and referral systems, improving access to survivor-centred support services, and promoting safe and respectful university environments across Nigeria.

Keywords: Sexual assault prevention education, sexual violence prevention practices, university students, sexual violence, sexual assault, consent education, violence prevention, sexual and reproductive health, health education, university health, public health, Nigeria.