Experiences and Attitudes towards Sexual Harassment among Hawkers Residing in Ede Township in Osun State, Nigeria
Keywords:
Experience, Attitudes, Sexual Harassment, HawkersAbstract
Background: Peddling through the streets in developing countries is another area of interest the researchers will love to explore due to the socio-economic and negative health effects that can results from this by those who involved in it. This includes sexual assault which increases the vulnerability of the hawkers to diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, increased risk of unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortion. Objective: This study aimed to gain an understanding on the experiences and attitudes towards sexual harassment among hawkers residing in Ede Township in Osun State, Nigeria. Methodology: The study population comprises of hawkers in Ede Township in Ede, Osun State. Fifty respondents were reached through questionnaire titled Experiences and Attitudes towards Sexual Harassment among Hawkers Residing in Ede Township in Osun State, Nigeria. Quantitative research method was applied for data collection. 17 items questionnaire containing 3 segments was used for data collection and SPSS version 23 was used for analysis of data. Results: The result revealed that 21 (42%) were between the age of 16 – 20 years, 38 (76%) were females, 42 (84%) were Islam, 49 (98%) were Yoruba of which 39 (78%) were single. Also, 37 (74%) were students, 43 (86%) had secondary school education 14 (28%) earned 1,000 – 1,900 and 2,000 – 2,900 per day as income. 16 (32%) responded that sometimes has anyone made gesture or body language of a sexual nature to them, 45 (90%) strongly disagree that they are comfortable with people of opposite sex touching their buttocks without their consent and 44 (88%) strongly disagree that they are comfortable with people of opposite sex touching their waist without their consent. Conclusion: In conclusion, street hawking is a variant and a very visible phenomenon in our society. It is largely due to poverty and underdevelopment. The hawkers are exposed to many risks of which sexual abuse is a prominent component. The government needs to vigorously pursue poverty alleviation measures to improve the general socio-economic status of majority of the population. There are needs to give sex education to all young people with emphasis on risk reduction measures.
References
Amoo EO., Ola-David O, Ogunrinola IO, Fadayomi TO (2012). Street trading activities and maternal health in urban areas of Nigeria. Global Journal of Human Social Science, Arts and Humanities; 12(15):1-10.
Ashimolowo OR, Aromolaran AK, Inegbedion SO (2010). Child-street trading activities and its effect on the educational attainment of its victims in Epe Local Government area of Lagos state. J. Agric. 2(4):211-220.
Ekpenyong S, Nkereuwuem SA (2011). Street Trading and Child Labour in Yenogoa. Int. J. Sci. Res. in Educ. 4(1): 36-46.
Esin MN, Bulduk S, Ince H (2005). Work related risks and health problems of working children in urban Istanbul, Turkey. J . Occup Health. 47:431-436.
Fawole OI, Ajuwon AJ, Oshungbade KO (2003). Interventions for violence prevention among female workers in motor parks in South Western Nigeria a review of effectiveness. Afr. J. of Re-production Health; 7 (1): 71 – 82.
Hoyamo L, Keenan C (2007). Child Abuse: Law and Policy Across Boundaries: Oxford: Oxford University press.
International Labour Office (2006). The End of Child Labour: Within reach Global report on the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. International Labour Conference 95th Session, Report I(B), ILO, Geneva.
Kwankye SO, Nyarko PE, Tagoe CA (2007). Reproductive Health Implications of Street Hawking in Accra. Paper presented at the Fifth African Population Studies, Arusha Tanzania, 10-14 Dec.
Lee S (2004). Assessing the vulnerability of women street traders to HIV/AIDS: A Comparative Analysis of Uganda and South Africa. HEARD, July. 26.
Lu JL (2011). Occupational Health and Safety of Women Workers: Viewed in the Light of Labour Regulations. J. Int. Women’s Stud. Vol. 12 No. 1. 2011. Pp 68-78.
Olutunde AA (2013). the Prevalence of Child-Hawkers’ in Motor parks in Ibadan Munacipality: An Overview. Open Journal of Social Science Research; 1(7): 174-179.
Ugochukwu EF, Okeke KN, Onubogu CU, Edokwe ES (2012). Socio- demographic characteristics of child street vendors in Nnewi, Nigeria. Niger J . Paed. 39(4): 174-178.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Omoge Adeyemi O., Adesegun Mobolaji M., Arogundade Ayorinde O., Godfrey Sally G., Obi – Obasi Chiamaka S., Opadele Modurotolu M.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Biomedical Review follows the Creative Commons CC-BY license (Attribution). It means Authors can use, reuse and build upon the material published in the journal but only for non-commercial purposes. Every article published in the Journal clearly mentioned licensing terms between author/authors and publisher (Siddharth Health Research and Social Welfare Society) as the logo of Creative Commons CC-BY license (Attribution) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.