Research Article
Youth Sexual Exploitation in Nigeria: A Call for an Urgent Multi-Pronged Approach in Response to the Current Emerging Trend
Akeem Opeyemi Akinbode*
,
Sunday Bassey Udoh,
Patricia Eseigbe,
Ndifreke Ubokutom Udom
Issue:
Volume 12, Issue 4, August 2026
Pages:
225-230
Received:
11 November 2025
Accepted:
23 March 2026
Published:
22 July 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.cajph.20261204.11
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Abstract: Introduction: Sexual exploitation among children, adolescents and young adults is a global public health menace. Within Nigeria, it is no longer news that a newfangled trend has emerged concerning the incessant and unwholesome advantage-taking of the youth by sexual exploitation perpetrators. Youth sexual exploitation appears to have been accepted as a norm, with no head-on approach to solve the problem in place. Surprisingly, YSE is now taking new paths, thus not only making the situation more complex, but inhumane with the latest case events. The article is a follow-up research in response to the current dimension of sexual exploitation among the youth in Nigeria. Aim: This article aims to bring to the fore the currently emerging and evolving trend concerning the forms of sexual exploitation against the youth in Nigeria, while proffering solutions through an approach based on the context of the issue. Methodology: This paper is a narrative review that provides an overview of existing academic literature, official reports, and media reports on youth sexual exploitation in Nigeria. Findings: The known forms of YSE have been unresolved and neglected to deteriorate to more complicated branches of YSE in Nigeria. Different factors are enhancing the trend, including individual, family, community and institutional factors. Conclusion: Social, cultural, and economic connections have been identified to be factorial in the unending and deteriorating menace of YSE. There is an urgent need for all relevant stakeholders to take bold steps using a multi-pronged approach to curb the menace.
Abstract: Introduction: Sexual exploitation among children, adolescents and young adults is a global public health menace. Within Nigeria, it is no longer news that a newfangled trend has emerged concerning the incessant and unwholesome advantage-taking of the youth by sexual exploitation perpetrators. Youth sexual exploitation appears to have been accepted ...
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