Abstract

This study investigated perceived causes of rape among tertiary institution students. A survey research design was adopted for the study. The population consisted of all students at Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo. Two hundred and fifty (250) students were randomly selected for the study. A structured questionnaire was used as an instrument to collect data for the study. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained using Cronbach’s alpha statistics, which yielded a coefficient of 0.85. The data was analysed using the mean, ranking, and t-test. The results showed that indecent dressing, exposure to pornography, bad parenting, and high erotic aspirations are some of the causes of rape. It was also found that gender, family type, and marital status have a significant influence on the perception of causes of rape among tertiary institution students (t = 3.912; p<0.05; t = 3.162, p<0.05 and t = 5.882, p<0.05) respectively, while religion does not (t =3.812, p>0.05). It was therefore recommended, among others, that there should be a war against indecent dressing at all levels and strata and exposure to pornography should be highly discouraged.