Abstract:
Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a worldwide phenomenon that transcends
generations and the victims are increasingly found among society's
most vulnerable populations. Children's knowledge of sexual abuse
determines their ability to identify sexual behaviors that could expose
them to abuse. This paper explores how children perceive sexual
abuse from their communities and school environments. Using
interviews and focus group discussions, data was taken from 17
sexually abused child ren from three communities and 80 students
from four schools in Greater Accra. The findings showed that almost
all the children in the communities did not have any knowledge about
child sexual abuse. They perceived CSA as a sexual act where a child
gets hu rt or pregnant. On the other hand, respondents from the school setting had all heard about sexual abuse but did not understand what
it really meant. This paper ends by recommending some interventions
to help curb the phenomenon of child sexual abuse in Ghana.