Women’s perceptions of domestic, intimate partner violence and the government’s interventions in Nigeria: A qualitative study

Abstract

Domestic violence, including intimate partner violence, increased exponentially following the Covid-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, there appears to be a paucity of research that draws on a social constructionist theoretical lens to explore women’s perspectives of the Nigerian government’s interventions addressing such violence. The study recruited 24 purposively selected female participants from Delta state, Nigeria. Informed by a social constructionist thematic analysis, findings revealed that they were a perceived sense that law enforcement agencies’ gender-biased response to domestic violence complaints and lack of awareness of legal solutions fuel domestic violence. The study recommends a randomised control trial to test the efficacy of legal education interventions in improving domestic violence awareness in Nigeria.

Intimate Partner Violence in Nigeria: A Review of the Literature

“…Women autonomy, economic status and household decision making ability as a predictor of IPV has continue to yield conflicting results in studies conducted in Nigeria [21,51]. Various theoretical models have been used to explain predictors of IPV [11,16]. Interventions should include implementation of existing laws and policies against IPV and active client-oriented screening for IPV in health facilities [45].…”

“…Some few studies however, demonstrated that physical violence is the most common type of violence encountered in the country [14]. IPV is on the increase especially following COVID 19 Pandemic [16]. Within Nigeria regional and geographical differences has been reported in different studies with Emotional/psychological Violence occurring more in the conservative northern societies than physical that is most seen in the more educationally advanced southern states [15].…”