TITLE:
Sexual Violence among Street Children in Urban Areas (Case of the City of Lubumbashi in 2021)
AUTHORS:
John Mwanza Lukusa, Franck Dikala Otete, Justin Kanda Kabeya, Adrien Mazanga Nakunyi, Jeannot Mpanya Mpanya, Bienfait Mwarabu Much’apa, Simon Ilunga Kandolo
KEYWORDS:
Sexual Violence, Street Children, Urban Environment, Lubumbashi
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.11 No.3,
March
20,
2024
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Endemic poverty and the consequences of multiple armed conflicts, the number of street children is constantly increasing throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the sexual violence they suffer is becoming more and more common. This presents a real public health problem in the DRC in general and in Lubumbashi in particular. This study consists of establishing the societal state of street children, more particularly by assessing the sexual violence they suffer. Methods: To achieve this, we carried out a cross-sectional descriptive study accompanied by a survey questionnaire on 250 street children of mixed ages and sexes. Results: At the end of our study, the prevalence of sexual violence was 53.6%. The different types of sexual violence to which street children have been exposed are rape (79.8%), sexual harassment (32.8%), forced pregnancy (23.8%), forced prostitution (23.1%) and the initiation of minors into debauchery (18.6%). The main reasons for family breakdown were the prophecy of witchcraft (25%), the death of one or both parents (25%) as well as other reasons (mistreatment, divorce, family exclusion for witchcraft, influence of friends) having 25%. Conclusion: From the above, street children suffer violence of all kinds, from desired sexuality to imposition, overall, it is an alarming situation which endangers the physical and mental health of children.