SEXUAL ABUSE

This study examines the health-seeking behaviours of sexually abused teenagers in Uselu Community, Edo State, focusing on their access to medical, emotional, and mental health support. Utilizing a quantitative research design, data was collected through surveys distributed to a sample of 400 adolescents. The findings reveal significant barriers to seeking help, including stigma, financial constraints, limited healthcare access, and insufficient understanding among service providers regarding issues related to sexual abuse. While 50% of respondents expressed a willingness to seek medical assistance, an equal proportion reported reluctance, indicating the influence of cultural factors and a preference for informal emotional support. Notably, only 40% of the teenagers utilized counselling services, highlighting a critical gap in mental health engagement. The study also emphasizes the vital role of social workers in providing support and facilitating access to resources, underscoring their importance in community education and stigma reduction. Recommendations include improving healthcare access, implementing trauma-informed training for providers, increasing the availability of mental health resources, and expanding confidential support options. Keywords: Health-seeking behaviors, Sexual abuse, Adolescents, Mental health support, Stigma.

This study is an evaluation of the psychotherapeutic intervention for victims of sexual abuse in Egor Community Edo State. The study adopted the survey research design on the basis of which data were sourced using simple random sampling technique. A sample of two hundred participants was adopted. The data was anlysed using quantitative and qualitative analysis. The result revealed that cognitive behavioral therapeutic approach can helps treat emotional and behavioural problem of victims of sexual abuse. Psychodynamic therapy can impact positively on manifestations of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)following sexual abuse. Social work therapeutic approach can ef ectively manage trauma faced by victims of sexual abuse in Egor Community Edo State. The study recommends that cognitive behavioral therapeutic approach should be adopted since it can helps to treat emotional and behavioural problem of victims of sexual abuse, ii is very important to design a system that could easy intervene for survivals. The extent of trauma faced by sexual abused survivals should determine whether psychodynamictherapy can impact positively on manifestations of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)following sexual abuse. Social work therapeutic approach should be made available in Egor Local Government welfare department where victims or survival of sexual abuse can obtain ef ective manage trauma during and post survival period