Sexual delinquency, being the act of committing sexual offenses, is a complex problem. Its causes are multifactorial and the motivations that drive the perpetrators of sexual assault are diverse [1]. Nowadays, there is still no consensus on a single portrait of child sex offender and the circumstances of the violence are still poorly understood. In Africa and particularly in Senegal, studies focusing on sex offenders are still rare. The objectives of our study were to determine the profile of the perpetrators and to identify the circumstances of sexual violence against minors in Casamance.

This is a retrospective descriptive and analytical study from April 1rst, 2014 to October 31rst, 2019. Our study focused on the perpetrators of sexual violence against minors whose legal consequences had been dealt with at the level of the high court of Ziguinchor.

We first identified the cases of sexual violence against minors at the court level from the correctional registers and the court records. Then, we collected the data from court records using a form that had been developed, tested, then corrected and validated.

The data were entered into an Excel spreadsheet and then exported to Epi Info^TM 7 for analysis. The actual analysis consisted of a presentation of the proportions and a cross-referencing of the variables and the output variables. The associations were assessed by the Chi² test at the 5% level of significance.

The average age of the aggressors was 32.52 years, with extremes of 13 and 73 years. There was a predominance of young adults aged 18 to 35 (58.41%; n = 66). This predominance of young aggressors is also found in other studies. In Diémé’s study in Dakar [2], the aggressor was on average 32 years old, the age varying between 10 and 60 years and in that of Bah in Conakry [3], 66.7% of aggressors were between 16 and 35 years old. This can be explained by the fact that it is at this age that sex drives are strongest and that sexual interest gradually decreases with age [4]. However, there was a statistically significant link between the age of the aggressor and the occurrence of rape. Victims were more at risk of being raped when the perpetrator was over 35 years old (p = 0.043). This could be due to the large age difference resulting in greater vulnerability of victims.

In our study, underage sexual offenders represented 7.96% (n = 9) of the perpetrators of sexual violence. The proportion of adolescents involved in sexual assault is increasing [5] [6]. Thus, according to Haesevoets, these adolescents “lack reliable references and/or suffer from social disengagement, but most have been victims of abuse of various kinds (psychological, physical or sexual) within their family circle.” [6]. At the societal level, weak parental control and early access of young people to knowledge of sexual practices (via the uncontrolled dissemination of pornographic content, for example), may explain the acting out of these adolescents.

The aggressors were male in 98.23% of cases (n = 111). This is consistent with many other studies in Senegal and beyond [7] [8] with 99.4% - 100% male perpetrators. However, many authors agree that women perpetrators of sexual violence are not so uncommon [9] [10]. Sy, in Dakar (2011) found a higher proportion of abusive women than in our study (13.60%) [11]. Societal stereotypes about women’s sexuality may explain the under-reporting of sexual violence perpetrated by women. Moreover, since the main care of the child is provided by the woman, certain abusive acts may be disguised as care and therefore go unnoticed.

Singles accounted for 70.41% (n = 69) of aggressors in our study, compared to 26.53% (n = 26) of married and 3.06% (n = 3) of divorced ones. Single people would thus be the most disposed to practices of sexual assault. Diallo and al in Conakry, made the same observation with 72.28% of single perpetrators [8], as did Léye and al in Kolda (72.2%) [12]. Among the factors found in child sex offenders, the authors identified negative affective states such as loneliness, isolation, lack of adequate relationships with partners of the same age. These aggressors would find “comfort in relationships with children who are passive, dependent, psychologically less threatening than adults, and easily manipulated” [13].

The aggressors were uneducated in 41.27% of the cases (n = 26). Educated aggressors therefore represented 58.73% of cases (n = 37), including 7.94% (n = 5) in the Koranic school and 50.79% (n = 32) in the modern school. Of these, 20.63% had a secondary level. Our results go against those of previous studies in Senegal in which most perpetrators had a low level of education, in particular the studies of Savy and Léye with respectively 58.23% and 67.3% of non-criminal perpetrators. Educated [9] [12].

Nearly half of the perpetrators in our study, 47.71% (n = 52), had low-income occupations (drivers/trainee drivers, laborers, farmers/herders/fishermen, security guards). Pupils and students represented 14.68% (n = 16) and 5.50% (n = 6) were retired or unemployed. In Gabon, the majority of sex offenders came from a disadvantaged social background and 46.2% were unemployed or seeking employment [14]. The precarious socio-economic conditions, unemployment, have a certain influence on the passage to the act [13] [15]. In addition, more than a quarter of attacks were committed by artisans, shopkeepers, teachers/trainers, tailors, photographers or healers. They are individuals who, through their jobs, are very often in contact with children.

The victims of child sex offenders were mainly composed of girls with 95.28% of cases (n = 101). These results are identical to those of other studies carried out at national [9] [11] [12] and international [5] [16] [17] [18] levels in which girls represented between 84.70% and 99.4%. Girls are thus more vulnerable to sexual violence [15] [19]. However, sexual violence against boys is not rare. Priebe reports in his series that 23% of boys are victims of sexual violence [10]. This under-representation of boys in our study could be explained by the fact that boys report fewer acts of sexual violence [20]. The age of the victims in our series varied between 3 and 17 years. The victims were on average 12.62 ± 3.42 years old with a predominance of adolescent girls aged 12 to 17 (74.53%; n = 79). This age group is marked by puberty, which begins around the age of 10.5 years on average in girls [21]. The body of the adolescent is in full mutation with the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics. The young girl thus becomes the object of attraction of the adults and the young aggressors.

Among the 72 victims for whom the educational level was informed, 8.33% were not educated (n = 6). The educational level was relatively low with 52.78% of the victims having a primary level (n = 38). Victims with no education or with a low level of education experienced more rape (p = 0.016). Our results are similar to those obtained in Dakar [9] and Lomé [16] with respectively 45.88% and 60% of victims having a primary level. The “sexual taboo” noted in Senegalese society and the low level of education of the victims means that they have not benefited from sexual education at the family and/or school level, which makes them vulnerable in front of the aggressors.

Victims of abusers in our study were living with a single parent in 17.58% of cases (n = 16) and in “fostering” in 20.88% of cases (n = 19).

Sy in Dakar obtained 11.50% of entrusted victims and 7.6% in single-parent families [11]. According to Meydan [5] living in a single-parent family, being entrusted to another family or placed in a foster home would increase the risk of exposure to sexual violence.

Forty-five victims (93.75%) belonged to families of low socio-economic level. This result confirms those obtained in studies conducted in Senegal [2] [22] [23] and internationally [5] [10] [24]. The socio-economic precariousness of the victims’ families. The small jobs carried out by children expose them to sexual abuse from their employers or clients.

Referring to the circumstances in which child molesters operate, 65.71% (n = 69) of victims were abused in the daytime period when parents are preoccupied with other tasks. Léye and Meka had made the same observation with respectively 53.4% and 74.5% of victims assaulted during the day [12] [25] unlike Soumah who had obtained, in his study in Gabon, 67.5% of sexual abuses committed at night [14].

The results of our study reveal that child sex aggressors acted outside the family circle of the victim. This was most often the abuser’s home or workplace in 62.26% (n = 66) and 3.77% (n = 4) of cases, respectively. These results are similar to those of Léye in Kolda [12] and Savy in Dakar [9] where the sexual assault took place in the home of the aggressor in respectively 53.1% and 72.47% of cases. According to some authors (Dupont and al; Diémé and al), the aggressor baits his victim and lures him to an isolated place where the call for help will not be heard [2] [7].

Regarding the clinical aspects of the sexual violence perpetrated by the aggressors, rape was the type most reported by the victims with 66.03% of the cases (n = 70). Studies, such as those of Cissé and al, in Dakar which obtained 61% of rape cases [26], of Diallo and al, in Conakry with 72.10% [8], of Meka and al, in Yaoundé with 85.1% [25] and Dupont and al in, France with 79% [7], have confirmed this predominance of rape over other types of sexual violence. However, these results may not reflect reality if we know that certain types of sexual assault are tolerated by our societies. They are therefore less often the subject of complaints and/or medical consultations.

The aggressors were known to their victims in 84.47% of the cases (n = 87) which makes us say that, contrary to popular beliefs, the aggressor belongs to the direct entourage of the child. It is most often a person who has the confidence of the child.

The sexual violence was the act of a single aggressor in 91.51% of the cases (n = 97). Collective sexual assaults were uncommon in our study. Higher rates were found in Mali with 34.46% collective attacks [27]. Sexual aggression is often a sign of virility in the group, and is strongly linked to the desire to be held in high esteem [28].

In our study, the victims had experienced another form of violence in 47.17% of cases (n = 50). The most common form of coercion used by the abuser was verbal abuse. Our results are higher than those of Sy in Dakar, i.e. 27.10% of verbal and/or physical violence [11]. However, they are lower than those of Méka in Yaoundé, which reported respectively 57.4% verbal violence and 25.5% physical violence [25].

Of the victims, 40.57% (n = 43) had alleged that they had been assaulted more than once by the same assailant. These were most often victims who knew their attackers (p = 0.014) and who were over the age of 10 (p = 0.0037). This can be explained by the fact that the physical damage left by sexual violence is greater in young girls [19].

At the end of our study, a profile of perpetrators of sexual violence against minors emerges. These are young adult men, single, with little or no education and working in low-income professions. These child sex abusers operate outside the family circle of their victims and in daylight. Rape is the type of aggression preferred by perpetrators, most of whom were known to their victims.

In Senegal, sex education must be a priority for families and child protection services, in short, for all actors in society. Raising public awareness, monitoring and possibly medico-psychological care of child sex offenders must be included in policies to fight sexual violence.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Koundoul, A., Diagne, I., Sambou, B.F., Wone, I., Ba, E.H.M., Seck, S. and Faye, P.L. (2023) Perpetrators of Sexual Violence against Minors in Casamance (Senegal). Open Journal of Psychiatry, 13, 33-44. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojpsych.2023.131005