Parents and Teachers’ Perspectives of Sex Education Mechanism as Determinants of Preventing Child Molestation in Selected Schools in Lagos State, Nigeria

This study investigated parents' and teachers’ perspectives on sex education mechanisms as determinants of preventing child molestation in selected schools in Lagos state, Nigeria, with five objectives. The descriptive research design was adopted. The population for this study comprised all parents and teachers from selected Key Stage 2 elementary schools across 20 Local government Areas within the six Educational districts in Lagos State, but only 100 teachers and 90 parents were sampled in the study through the use of a multi-stage sampling technique. Two instruments titled “Teachers Perception of Sex Education Questionnaire (TPSEQ)” and “Parents Perception of Sex Education Questionnaire (PPSEQ)” had a reliability coefficient of 0.676 and 0.740, respectively. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, namely frequency counts and percentages, to present the respondents’ biodata, while the mean was used to answer the research questions. The study found that parents and teachers perceived a positive relationship between sex education and the prevention of child molestation in Lagos State; parents teaching their children sex education at home will reduce child molestation to a great extent, and teaching sex education to children at school will reduce child molestation to a reasonably high degree. Furthermore, the study shows a positive and significant relationship between sex education, especially at home, and the prevention of child molestation, while teaching it in school had a positive relationship. Based on these statistical findings, it was concluded that both parents and teachers had positive perceptions that teaching sex education in schools and at home would be largely effective in the prevention or elimination of child molestation in Lagos State, and by extension, in the entire country, Nigeria. Conclusively, the study recommended, among other things, that governments at all levels should ensure the inclusion of sex education in the primary and secondary education curriculum and ensure its effective implementation. Parents, on the other hand, should endeavour to expose their children to sex education from the beginning of their childhood as a mechanism to prevent sexual molestation.

Child molestation, Sex education, Parents' perspective, Teacher’s perspective

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