Societal and Cultural Variables as Correlates of Child Abuse in Imo State

Child abuse is an infringement on the rights of the child. The frequency of its occurrence has made it not only a national, but a global concern. The main objective of the study was the identification of sociocultural practices that expose the child to various abuses in Imo State. The study was a survey. Four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. The target population were children found hawking on the streets of Owerri, Orlu and Okigwe; the three major towns of the State. They were about 2500. The Null hypotheses were tested using the Pearson Correlation statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study indicated that there was significant relationship between child abuse and the existing cultural practices. The findings further indicated that excessive domestic child labour, early girl child marriage, begging by children, hawking and preference for particular sex of child are some of the societal and cultural practices that influence child abuse. Other causes of child abuse other than cultural practices but aid child abuses were children voluntarily make themselves available as domestic servants for good, child hawking, high level of illiteracy, ready market for child labour, ignorance of associated dangers of hawking and begging, and the less expensiveness of child labour compared to hired adult labour. Other causes of child abuses included easy tameness of children compared to adult, high level of poverty, selective application of the Child Right Act, fear of victimization, and Corruption in prosecuting offender of child abuse by the legal agencies. Based on these findings, it was noted that if the situation was not checked more children would fall victim of child abuse. This will ultimately affect the leadership quality of our tomorrow’s society. To forestall this problem, it was recommended that an alternative employment, and free education be provided for these street beggars and hawkers, more awareness on the disadvantages and dangers of early child marriage be publicized to discourage people from going into it; the issue of poverty and illiteracy level should be addressed by the government and society at large as to reduce hawking and begging, and finally as solutions to child abuse in relation to societal and cultural practices, there should be a total attitudinal shift and cultural revolutions of attitude and values using great deal of enlightenment.