Gender differences in the acceptance of wife-beating in Nigeria: evidence from the 2018 Demographic and Health Survey

Abstract

The world over, more than one-third of women have been victims of either physical or sexual violence, or both, most of which are perpetrated by intimate partners. Intimate partner violence (IPV) has negative consequences for women's health, socio-economic and psychological wellbeing. Similarly, acceptance of IPV has negative implications for its spread, sympathy for victims, and utilisation of antenatal and postnatal healthcare services among women. This study investigates the influence of age, education, location, religion, marriage type, employment, wealth level, extramarital sex, smoking, internet use, media exposure and decision making on the justification of IPV, and how the associations vary between men and women. The study utilised the 2018 Nigeria's Demographic and Health Survey. The data analysed was comprised of 8,018 men and 28,888 women who were married or living with a partner. It was found that women are more likely to accept IPV than men (AOR: 1.627). Educational difference between spouses influences women's experience of and acceptance of IPV. Overall, being young, being uneducated, living in the north, being Muslim, being polygamous, being employed, being poor, having extramarital sex, being a smoker, not having access to internet, and not being exposed to the media increased the odds of IPV justification. However, while Muslim women had higher odds of accepting IPV than Christians (AOR: 1.587), Muslim men have lower likelihood of IPV justification than Christian men (AOR: 0.759). Gender differences also exist in the influence of age, marriage type, employment, extra-marital sex, smoking, media exposure and decision making. This study underscores the importance of applying differing intervention programmes to men and women where necessary.

Regional variations in the acceptance and experience of intimate partner violence in Nigeria: Revisiting cosmopolitan-success and conservative-failure hypothesis

“…The finding on education is that tertiary education is the turning point as respondents with tertiary education have the lowest likelihood of IPV experience across the two regions. The studies by Alo et al (2012), Wusu (2015) and Alabi and Ramsden (2021) are consistent with our study as they reported that having post-secondary education reduces the likelihood of women's IPV victimisation and justification in Nigeria. Other studies reported reduced IPV experience and acceptance of it as the level of education increases (Oyediran, 2016;Nwabunike & Tenkorang, 2017;Dim, 2019;Dim & Olayinka, 2019).…”

“…Other studies reported reduced IPV experience and acceptance of it as the level of education increases (Oyediran, 2016;Nwabunike & Tenkorang, 2017;Dim, 2019;Dim & Olayinka, 2019). The finding of this study can be explained because tertiary education may increase negotiation skills, self-autonomy, and knowledge of human rights (Alabi and Ramsden, 2021). While tertiary education has been established to reduce IPV risks for women, marrying a husband with higher level of education is also important for such educated women.…”

“…Earlier studies explored IPV victimisation and its acceptance using earlier versions of Nigeria's Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) data. For instance, Okenwa-Emegwa et al (2016) and Alabi and Ramsden (2021) investigated gender differences in IPV acceptance using the 2008 data and 2018 data, respectively; Oyediran (2016) takes a step further by studying trends in the acceptance of IPV across 2003IPV across , 2008IPV across , and 2013 data sets and associated factors. Regarding the actual experience of IPV, Wusu (2015) analysed the risk factors and consequences of IPV among married female youth aged 15-24 using the 2008 data set; Nwabunike and Tenkorang (2017) studied the ethnic differences in IPV victimisation among women using the 2008 NDHS with focus on the three major tribes of Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba.…”

Exploring the association between attitudes towards wife beating and intimate partner violence using a dyadic approach in three sub-Saharan African countries

“…Gender differences in IPV rejection were also observed in Malawi where a positive association was found between access to media and acceptance of violence among men, while the same resulted in a higher rejection of violence among women 21 31. In Nigeria, gender differences in the acceptance of wife beating were also found in the influence of age and media exposure 29…”

“…Even when people intermarry, they are likely to choose partners with similar attributes such as education, occupation, age and values 21 28. Yet, despite these commonalities that bring people into marital unions, research has shown that the correlates of marital violence justification may be gendered 21 29. For instance, one Sierra Leonean study found that although an increase in education was associated with an increase in the rejection of marital violence by women, the same did not change men’s attitudes 30.…”