Risks and Resilience among Sexually Abused Female Street Children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of their Lived Experiences
| dc.contributor.advisor | Moxley(Prof), David P. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Adem, Addisalem | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-01-15T11:08:47Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-11-04T12:02:58Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-01-15T11:08:47Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-11-04T12:02:58Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020-07 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of risks and resilience among sexually abused female street children in Addis Ababa from the social constructionist perspective. The study employs an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to understand risks and resilience of 10 purposely selected sexually abused female street children in Merkato area of Addis Ketema Sub city using criterion and snowball sampling techniques. It utilizes semi-structured interviews as a primary tool of data collection. In order to strengthen the data gained from the interviews, observations of physical settings where sexually abused female street children work and sleep were conducted. The findings about risks describe various types of sexual abuse, risks that expose female street children to sexual abuse, and risks the children face as a result of sexual abuse. The major types of sexual abuse include forced sexual partnerships with familiar street men, rape by unfamiliar street men, and unprotected and ‘abnormal’ sexual activities with sex customers. Individual level risks that expose female street children to sexual abuse primarily include being new to the street, consumption of substances, and engagement in sex work. Environmental level risks include the physical and social contexts in which the incidents of sexual abuse occur. Risks associated with the physical environment mainly include the bus station where potential perpetrators pick rural child migrants and unsafe sleeping places on the street. Risks associated with the social environment include the street subculture that normalizes sexual abuse and membership to weak social networks. Child sex workers are more likely to face different types of sexual abuse as compared to child beggars. The findings further reveal that sexual abuse has negative consequences on the physical and psychosocial well-being of female street children. Child beggars are more likely to experience physical risks, whereas child sex workers are more likely to experience psychosocial risks. In order to explain the differences in children’s experiences of sexual abuse, the study utilizes resilience perspective. Resilience refers to availability and effective utilization of personal and environmental protective resources that help the children overcome risk of re-experiencing sexual abuse and enhance their resistance or recovery from negative consequences of sexual abuse. Child beggars possess abilities to utilize appropriate personal and environmental protective resources to successfully avert sexual abuse. The major personal protective resources include abilities to engage in socially acceptable survival strategies, secure sleeping places, recover from substances, and avoid visibility to potential perpetrators. The environmental protective resources include social support (informational, advice, material, and financial) from social networks and rehabilitation centers. In contrast, child sex workers possess few resilience qualities. They make little effort to recover from sex work and substance use and lack social support from social networks and rehabilitation centers. Resilience is also associated with effective utilization of coping strategies that enhance children’s physical and psychosocial well-being. Child sex workers are more resilient in terms of accessing medical services from health institutions to cope with physical risks. In contrast, child beggars are more resilient in terms of overcoming psychosocial risks. Child beggars more likely utilize effective coping strategies such as seeking emotional support from intimate friends, normalizing the sexual abuse, engaging in religious practices and leisure time activities, redefining risks, and having a strong sense of the positive future. In contrast, child sex workers are more likely to utilize ineffective coping strategies such as consuming substances, suppressing emotions, and wishful thinking. The study has implications for social work education, policy, practice, and research in order to address the problem of sexual abuse among female street children in Addis Ababa. Keywords: child sexual abuse, protective resources, resilience, risk | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/24702 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Addis Ababa University | en_US |
| dc.subject | child sexual abuse, protective resources, resilience, risk | en_US |
| dc.title | Risks and Resilience among Sexually Abused Female Street Children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of their Lived Experiences | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |