Characteristics of higher education students who reported sexual violence: a Nigerian national study

Abstract Background Sexual violence among higher education students is a global public health problem. Identifying the characteristics of students who report victimization can serve as basis for programmes that target vulnerable students. Methods The study was conducted among 30,114 Nigerian higher education students. They were selected from 18 institutions comprising universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. The purpose of the study was to assess the characteristics of students who reported sexual violence (rape, attempted rape and sexual harassment) and to determine the association between reporting and their characteristics. Results Our findings showed that 37% of the students reported experiencing sexual violence. Regression analysis showed that the odds of reporting among female students were two times greater than that of the male students (CI = 1.58–1.78; P < 0.001). The students who were traditionalists (aOR = 2.65, p < 0.001) or from other religious groups (aOR = 3.28, p < 0.001) had higher odds of reporting than those who were Christians. All the age groups represented in the study had significantly higher odds of reporting except those between 25 and 29 years (aOR = 1.03; p = 0.616). Non-final year students had significantly 7% lower odds of reporting (p = 0.037) than the first-year students. The students in the arts and humanities-related programmes significantly had higher odds of reporting than those in the science-related programs (aOR = 1.08; p = 0043). In addition, polytechnic and colleges of education students were two times more likely to report sexual violence than university students (p < 0.001). Also, the students from other regions were two times more likely to report sexual violence than those from Southwest region. Conclusion The study concluded that sexual violence reporting by higher education students differ by their types of schools, sex, religion, level of education and geographical location.