Circumstances of Debut Sexual Intercourse among Out-of-School Adolescents in Ilorin, Nigeria

Objective: To determine the circumstances of debut sexual intercourse among out-of-school adolescents aged 15-24 years in Ilorin, Nigeria. Methods: A total of 253 apprentice tailors were sampled and pre-tested semi-structured questionnaires were administered to them by trained interviewers. Results: Mean age of respondents was 18.8 + 2.4 years and consisted of 184 females (72.7%) and 69 males (27.3%). Most respondents were single (93.7%) and were not educated beyond primary school (60.1%). Majority of respondents (69.2%) were sexually experienced and there was no significant difference by gender (p=0.768). Some 16% of sexually-experienced respondents initiated sex between the ages of 10-14 years and over 85% of sexually-experienced respondents commenced sexual intercourse before 19 years of age. Mean age of commencement of sexual intercourse was 17.3 + 2.4 years for males and 16.2 + 2.6 years for females and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.007). Age at debut sexual intercourse was significantly lower among younger respondents compared to older ones (p = 0.0001) hence suggesting that the age of sexual debut is decreasing in younger generations. About a third (31.2%) of female respondents were either coerced or raped at their debut sexual encounter whereas all male respondents indicated that their debut sexual encounter was consensual. Conclusion: This study showed a high rate of early sexual exposure among teenagers, as well as a high incidence of sexual violence on teenage girls among the study population. Communication between minors and their parents/caregivers should be nurtured from childhood to identify potential and actual abuse early. Sexual violence on under-aged females can also be reduced by ensuring that abuses are reported and male perpetrators apprehended and punished