ABSTRACT
Objectives: Assess the prevalence and associated factors of sexual coercion at sexual debut among young females in rural areas of Boset district, Oromia Region, Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: Cross-sectional community-based study design was conducted using both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. A sample of 632 young females aged 10-24 years was taken from six rural Kebeles by systematic random sampling for quantitative and data were collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS version 23. Principally Binary Logistic regression model was fitted. Moreover, eight focus group discussions targeting different groups were held and analyzed thematically. Results: The prevalence of sexual coercion at sexual debut was 36.5% (95%CI: 34.6%- 38.4%) among sexually active respondents. Married young female (AOR, 0.71; 95%CI: 0.42, 0.81), living away from their parents (AOR, 5.07; 95%CI: 1.07,24.01), age group of 15- 19 years (AOR, 0.19; 95%CI: 0. 06, 0.54), alcohol consumption (AOR, 2.44; 95%CI: 1.17, 5.08) and Khat chewing (AOR, 8.30; 95%CI: 1.89, 36.38) were factors predicting the likelihood of having sexual coercion at sexual debut. Conclusion: Sexual coercion at sexual debut is a major public health problem among young females in the study community. The emerging program interventions need to take this problem into consideration