Social Workers and Child Sexual Abuse in Urban Squatters of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Agu; Uchechi Rosemary; Lawretta Onyekwere; PhD; Barinem W. Girigiri; PhD

doi:10.56201/jpaswr.v11.no8.2026.pg1.12

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Social Workers and Child Sexual Abuse in Urban Squatters of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Agu, Uchechi Rosemary, Lawretta Onyekwere, PhD and Barinem W. Girigiri, PhD

Abstract

Child sexual abuse remains a critical public health and child protection concern globally, with particularly alarming prevalence rates in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examined the impact of social workers on CSA within urban squatter communities of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Using a cross-sectional correlational survey design, data were collected from 286 respondents comprising professional social workers, child protection officers, community leaders, NGO representatives, caregivers, and adult CSA survivors across mile 1, mile 2, and mile 3 Diobu axis, and Bundu Waterside. The study was anchored on Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, Jim Ife's Rights-Based Approach, and the Socio-Ecological Model. Findings revealed high CSA prevalence at grand mean=3.50 with poverty, overcrowding, and cultural silence as key contributing factors. Social workers employed multiple intervention strategies at grand mean=3.37 including counselling, community sensitization, and case management, but faced significant institutional and community-based challenges at grand mean=3.53. Regression analysis showed a significant negative relationship between challenges faced by social workers and CSA response effectiveness at β= -1.235, t=-20.932, p<0.001. The study concluded that while social workers are critical actors in CSA prevention and response, their effectiveness is significantly constrained by systemic barriers. The study recommended amongst others that the government should ensure enhanced training, improved resource allocation, strengthened inter-agency collaboration, and community engagement to optimize child protection outcomes in urban squatter settings.

Keywords

Child sexual abusesocial workurban squattersprotectionimpact.

References

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Social Workers and Child Sexual Abuse in Urban Squatters of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract

Keywords

References

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