STREET HAWKING AND RAPE AMONG TEENAGE GIRLS AND ITS INTERVENTION BY A SOCIAL WORKER

TABLE OF CONTENT

Title page

Approval page

Dedication

Acknowledgment

Abstract

Table of content

CHAPTER ONE

1.0   INTRODUCTION

1.1        Background of the study

1.2        Statement of problem

1.3        Objective of the study

1.4        Research question

1.5        Significance of the study

1.6        Scope of the study

1.7 Limitation of the study

1.8 Operational definition of terms

CHAPETR TWO

2.0   LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPETR THREE

3.0        Research methodology

3.1        sources of data collection

3.3        Population of the study

3.4        Sampling and sampling distribution

3.5        Validation of research instrument

3.6        Method of data analysis

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introductions

4.2 Data analysis

CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Summary

5.3 Conclusion

5.4 Recommendation

Appendix

Abstract

Street hawking exposes young girls to all forms of hazards, including sexual abuse. This descriptive study examines the size of the problem and the consequences of sexual abuse on juvenile female street hawkers randomly recruited from different part of Nigeria.  . The objective or aim of this study is to proffer solution to street hawking and rape among teenage girls and its intervention by social workers. The population of the study was made up of two hundred female teenage hawkers selected randomly. The instrument used for the investigation of data was the questionnaire. The researcher hereby recommended policy maker to eliminate street hawing and to enlighten the people or citizens on the causes of street hawking and rape among teenage girl.

        CHAPTER ONE

                                        INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

The Collins concise dictionary1 defines juvenile as pertaining to the young or immature of youth or childhood. This comprises the child and the adolescent. According to World Health Organization (WHO), a child falls within the age group of 0 ñ 19 years. Some countries further include any one less than or up to 21 years. The Nigerian labour act defines a child as those who are 16 years of age and below2 but the International Labour Organization (ILO) has brought it down to individuals below 15years of age3 . Sexual abuse is a gender based issue and is the misuse or wrong use of sexuality whether in action, touching of breast or buttocks, very intimate body contact or actual sexual intercourse with a child. It also includes use of words suggestive of intention to engage in any form of sexual activity or practice. Gender based violence is a major public health concern and infringement of human sexuality and reproductive rights. The World Health Organization estimates that at least one in five of worldís female population has been physically or sexually abused4 . Among children, sexual abuse is increasing and the girl child is more at risk5,6. The girl child has always been faced with problems that emanate from gender inequality in addition to the usual problems of childhood and adolescence. Besides the various health, sociocultural and educational problems to which the girl child is exposed, is the crucial and most often neglected hazards associated with child labour and street hawking. Street hawking is a common form of child labour in most developing countries like Nigeria and the female child is usually involved. The child on the street is exposed to malnutrition, respiratory tract infection, mental illness and substance abused and the young female hawkers are in addition particularly vulnerable to all forms of violence including sexual exploitation by men8 . The men prefer young girls as sexual partners because they assume they are sexually inexperie-nced and as such are less likely to be infected with sexually transmitted disease9 . In a society with poorly developed social network and intervention, many of the girls accept it as their lot and fear being stigmatized if they should report10 . Over the years the traditional Nigerian society has deliberately discriminated against the girl child especially as regards education with the wrong belief that subsequent marriage will deprive the parents and family of such investment. In order not to waste limited resources and to make the girl more useful to her family, she is given minimal education and the result is low aspiration and limited career and employment opportunities. There are also stress related problems when some of these girls are given to rich families as house helps or baby sitters or are sent into the street to hawk. Walking across the street in various cities and towns in Nigeria, one would find a substantial number of boys and girls (who are supposed to be school) engaged in menial or odd jobs such as newspaper vending, truck pushing, prostitution or other forms of forced labour. Most often the girl child is sent onto the street to hawk all kinds of wares because of poverty related issues and to help supplement family income. Also hawking is supposed to help prepared them for adult roles. This however, does not obviate the fact that the juvenile hawkers on the street are exposed to numerous hazards ranging from physical violence to loss of wares, risk of accident, robbery, kidnapping and even murder for ritual purposes. They are exposed to the vagaries of weather (extremes of cold or heat), to insects and reptiles, and to hunger and deprivation. The most troubling perhaps is the fact that some are sexually exploited and forced into prostitution with the risk of unintended pregnancies and contracting sexually transmitted infections (including HIV).

The increase of street hawking and rape over the years in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. Any critical observer of Nigerians socio-economic condition will agree that the living condition of some people is below standard. It can be observed that majority of these street trading are exposed to danger, for instance female street vendors frequently become victims of rate, this is dangerous because forced sexual activity may cause infection that may cause irreparable damage to her reproductive system. This study therefore will examine street hawking and rape among teenage girls and its intervention by social workers. The promoters of street hawking are mostly business operators. The people there are mostly sole proprietors, small scale traders and also street traders and as such could not afford large scale enterprises; hence they embrace little that can yield income for them to cater for themselves and families. Some examples of the traders done on street are;

1)   Sales of recharge cards

2)  Sachet waters

3)  Banana

4)  Selling of corn

5)  Roasting of plantain (i.e. bole). Etc.

Street trading according to Uwoyo (1995) is a trade done on a public road in city, town or village. It is as a result of low financial status of the people with the inability of creating lager business enterprises that can yield good income street trading in Oredo Local Government Areas is mostly caused by poverty. For example; a commercial motorcyclist popularly known as Okada Riders, with a family if 6 (six) children and whose wife finds it difficult to use the money gotten from his Okada Business to cater for his family will set up a little sole proprietorship business or give his wife little money to open any street trade to help the family. However in another view by Nwoyo (2005), street trading can also be caused by lack of education, high birth rate, frustration, etc.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Street hawking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a female by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power, a position of vulnerability or the giving or receiving of payments, benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over the child for the purpose of exploitation (African Network on Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect, 2010). As stated by Edu (1999), hawking is the selling of things (usually goods) along the roads or from one place to another, while Abisoye (2013) defined it as the act of canvassing for sale of items by hawkers along the street, from house to house or in public places in town. Street hawking is precarious to the security and the health of teenage girs, as most of this girls are either raped or molested in the process thereby exposing this children to health risk ranging from rape, tremor, psychological disorder STDs etc. It is in view of the above that necessitate this study.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study is to examine the nemesis of street hawking and rape among teenage girls and social workers intervention, but to aid the completion of the study, the researcher intend to achive the following specific objectives:

1. i) To examine the effect of street hawking on the mental and physical wellbeing of the girl child
2. ii) To examine the role of social workers in rehabilitating and intervening on rape victims as a result of street hawking

iii) To examine the factors responsible for street hawking among teenage girls

1. iv) To examine the relationship between street hawking and rape cases among teenage girls

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION

1. i) Does street hawking have any effect on the mental and physical wellbeing of the girl child?
2. ii) Is there any role played by social workers in rehabilitating and intervening on rape victims as a result of street hawking?

iii) Are there factors responsible for street hawking among teenage girls?

1. iv) Is there any relationship between street hawking and rape cases among teenage girls?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is believed that at the completion of the study, the findings will be of great importance to parent and guardian as the study seek to examine the dangers of street hawking to the girl child and the possible ways of ameliorating this menace in our society, the study will also be of great importance to the government, as the findings will aid in formulation and enforcement of policy and laws against child labor in Nigeria, the study will also be of significance to researchers who intend to embark on a study in a similar topic as the study will serve as a reference point to further research. Finally, the study will be of great importance to students, teachers, researchers, academia’s and the general public as the study will contribute to the pool of existing literature and also add to knowledge on the subject matter

1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers street hawking and rape among teenage girl child and its intervention by social workers. But in the cause of the study, there are some factors that limited the scope of the study;

FINANCE: Due to the nature of office and business within the scope, the researcher spends a lot of money on visiting, traveling from one location to another, from one office to the other and even had to repeat a visit more than three times to seek for information, all these involves money considering the financial constraint of the researcher and limited resources available to her.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION: Many registered and non-registered staffs of citizens and residents in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State were reluctant to give out or provide information about the research, since they believe that street trading and rape is something very confidential and therefore could not open up to the researcher.

INADEQUATE RECORD KEEPING: Some of the respondents visited were unable to present complete and comprehensive records of their business .while some were not keeping proper records of their business activities and as such could not give adequate and correct information on the effect of vat on their businesses rippling on the economy of Nigeria.

TIME: Time constraint has been another vital limitation and obstacle towards effective realization of the main objectives of this study. Time was really not on my side since I have to combine the little time left with my academic work and preparation.

1.7 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Rape: Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without that person’s consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person who is incapable of giving valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, has an intellectual disability or is below the legal age of consent.

Street hawking: Street hawking is the commonest form of child labor in Nigeria. Although street hawking is very pervasive, there is the increasing need to fully understand its pattern and effects on those involved in hawking particularly adolescents who combine schooling with hawking.

Poverty: According to the WIKEPEDIA, the free encyclopaedia (2007), poverty is the deprivation of those things that determine the quality of life including food, clothing, shelter and good drinking water, but also such intangible things as the opportunity to learn and enjoy the respect of fellow citizens.

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), statement of problem, objectives of the study, research question, significance or the study, research methodology, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlight the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

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