Prevalence and Patterns of Domestic Violence Among Women in a Rural and Urban Area of Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

Domestic violence (DV) is of a major Public health and human rights concern. It is perpetrated by intimate partners and manifests through physical, sexual and psychological abuse and has many adverse health consequences. The aim of the study was to determine and compare the prevalence and patterns of domestic violence among women in rural and urban communities. This study employed a comparative cross-sectional study with a mixed data collection method of  QUANT/qual type. In the study, 518 participants comprising 259 rural and 259 urban women, were recruited using a multi-stage sampling technique. The revised tactics short form was used to assess domestic violence among the women. Quantitative data was analysed using the IBM/SPSS version 24, while the qualitative data from the In-depth interviews and Key Informant Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim, coded and analysed using ATLAS.ti. Data was summarized using proportions, percentages and standard deviations as appropriate. The chi square test was used to compare proportions and the association between categorical data. Asignificant level was set as p-value of <0.05 at a 95% confidence level. The prevalence of domestic violence was higher in the rural communities 57.5%, than in the urban communities, 45.9%. More women in the rural communities experienced physical violence in the form of beating 98.0% than their urban counterparts 97.5%. On the contrary, fewer respondents in the rural communities experienced sexual violence in the form of forced sex 29.5% and forced caress and romance, 24.8%, while in the urban communities, 39.5% and 32.8% experienced forced sex and romance, respectively. In addition, respondents in the rural communities experienced psychological violence in the form of their partners not allowing them to visit their family members 12.8%, and humiliation before their friends 17.4% which was less than the experience of their counterparts in the urban communities which was 14.3% and 21.8% respectively. The study showed higher prevalence of domestic violence in the rural communities than in the urban communities. The patterns of domestic violence assessed were physical, sexual and psychological violence. To tackle the issue of domestic violence, Continuous sensitization and awareness should be carried out in both rural and urban communities in Kwara state to enlighten people about the dangers of domestic violence. Government should empower women, provide jobs for them and provide shelters for the victims and funds to set them up; this will encourage those whose lives are being threatened to leave.