Table 3 shows that the majority of the respondents believed that EC should be taken within 24 h after sexual intercourse. Only 5% reported that the EC pills could still be used up to three days after sexual intercourse. Accurate knowledge about timing of EC use increases with increase in age and year of study. Knowledge of side effects (Table 3) showed that fewer respondents (28%) were familiar with the World Health Organization (WHO) documented side effects of EC, which include; menstrual irregularity, nausea, bleeding, and body pain. Perceived risks associated with the use of EC as reported by the participants include; irreparable damage to the womb leading to infertility (53%). Knowledge of EC side effects slightly increases with age and year of study. Contrastingly, perception of EC’s side effects improves with increasing age and year of study. About 18% of them did not know the side effects of EC.Table 3Bivariate analysis indicating perception of emergency contraception timing and side effectsQuestions and responsesAllAge P-value≤1920–23≥24Timing of use Up to 24 h of sex140 (77.8)28 (70.0)79 (79.0)33 (82.5)0.81 72 h after sex9 (5.0)4 (10.0)3 (3.0)2 (5.0) Before Sex10 (5.6)3 (7.5)5 (5.0)2 (5.0) A week after sex9 (5.0)2 (5.0)6 (6.0)1 (2.5) Don’t Know12 (6.7)3 (7.5)7 (7.0)2 (5.0)Perception of Side Effects WHO proven side effects of ECa 50 (27.9)10 (22.7)29 (29.6)11 (30.6)0.85 Unproven side effects of ECb 95 (53.1)25 (56.8)50 (51.0)19 (52.8) Don’t Know32 (17.9)9 (20.5)17 (17.3)6 (16.7) No side effect2 (1.1)0 (0.0)2 (2.0)0 (0.0) aNausea, Irregular menstrual cycle, Bleeding bDamage to the womb, Future infertility