Sexual behaviours and reproductive health knowledge among in-school young people with disabilities in Ibadan, Nigeria

Purpose - The paper seeks to explore sexual behaviours and reproductive health knowledge among in-school young people with disabilities (PWD) in Ibadan, Nigeria.Design methodology approach - In the paper a structured questionnaire was administered to 103 randomly selected PWD, aged ten to 25, from four integrated secondary schools in Ibadan. The data were collected through face-to-face interview. Five categories of disability included were hearing and speech, sight, speech, intellectual, and physical disabilities.Findings - The paper finds that 57 percent of the sample were females and 43 percent were males. Of the 36 (35 percent) respondents who were sexually active, 17 did not give a definite reason for their sexual initiation, nine were influenced by peers, five were "experimenting" with sex, four were raped, while one person began sexual activity for monetary gains. A total of 17 percent of the respondents had either procured abortion or been involved in the procurement of abortion for a sexual partner. In total 28 percent of the sample reported ever being raped. In total, 43 percent had been fondled, kissed, or caressed, against their wishes. Knowledge of contraceptives was reported by 40 percent. A total of 23 percent had never used condoms, while 6 percent were consistent condom users. Half of the respondents had heard about HIV AIDS, 9 percent had tested for HIV, while 16 percent reported previous episodes of sexually transmitted infections. In total, 70 percent did not know where they could access reproductive health services.Originality approach - The paper shows that there is an urgent need to develop specific programs for young people with disabilities, especially for those in schools, to address knowledge and behaviour issues regarding reproductive health and HIV AIDS.