- Ajoku Rosella Eziudo
- Department of Public Administration, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)
This study investigated the factors responsible for the defilement of minors in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State and the implications for counselling practice. The study was guided by three research questions and corresponding hypotheses. A descriptive survey design was employed, and the population comprised all staff in Ikwerre LGA across departments such as Marriage Registry, Health, Education, Works, Personnel, Administration, Agriculture, Finance/Budget, Security, and the Legislative arm. Using purposive sampling, all the departments were selected, and simple random sampling was used to draw ten respondents from each department, giving a total sample size of 99 respondents. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed with weighted mean, standard deviation, and rank ordering, while hypotheses were tested using chi-square statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that the most significant factors responsible for the defilement of minors were poverty (x̄ = 3.4), parental neglect (x̄ = 3.3), broken homes (x̄ = 3.2), and peer influence (x̄ = 3.1), followed closely by exposure to pornographic content (x̄ = 3.0) and the absence of adequate sex education (x̄ = 2.9). Results further showed that parental socio-economic status had a significant influence on the vulnerability of minors, with children from low-income families being more at risk compared to those from middle- and high-income households (χ² = p < 0.05). Respondents also identified the consequences of defilement as psychological trauma (78%), poor academic performance (65%), stigmatization and social withdrawal (61%), and long-term health complications (49%). The study concludes that defilement of minors is a multi-faceted problem driven by socio-economic, familial, and environmental factors, with grave implications for the wellbeing of victims. It recommends strengthened parental supervision, provision of counselling services in schools and communities, public enlightenment campaigns, strict enforcement of child protection laws, and the integration of comprehensive, age-appropriate sexuality education into school curricula.