Abstract
BackgroundIntimate partner violence (IPV) against women has been recognised as a public health problem with far-reaching consequences for the physical, reproductive, and mental health of women. The ecological framework portrays intimate partner violence as a multifaceted phenomenon, demonstrating the interplay of factors at different levels: individual, community, and the larger society. The present study examined the effect of individual- and community-level factors on IPV in Nigeria, with a focus on women’s status and community-level norms among men.MethodsA cross-sectional study based on the latest Nigerian Demographic Health Survey (2013) was conducted involving 20,802 ever-partnered women aged 15–49 years. Several multilevel logistic regression models were calibrated to assess the association of individual- and community-level factors with IPV. Both measures of association (fixed effect) and measures of variations (random effect) were reported.ResultsAlmost one in four women in Nigeria reported having ever experienced intimate partner violence. Having adjusted for other relevant covariates, higher women's status reduced the odds of IPV (OR = 0.47; 95% CI = 0.32–0.71). However, community norms among men that justified IPV against women modified the observed protective effect of higher women's status against IPV and reversed the odds (OR = 1.89; 95% CI = 1.26–2.83).ConclusionsBesides women’s status, community norms towards IPV are an important factor for the occurrence of IPV. Thus, addressing intimate partner violence against women calls for community-wide approaches aimed at changing norms among men alongside improving women’s status.
Highlights
Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women has been recognised as a public health problem with far-reaching consequences for the physical, reproductive, and mental health of women
Within a multilevel framework informed by the ecological model [16], we found that IPV was influenced by individual characteristics such as women’s status, and by contextual factors such as men’s attitude towards IPV at the community level, having adjusted for other covariates
This study explored the negative influence of community IPV norms among men on the association between women’s status and IPV
Summary
Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women has been recognised as a public health problem with far-reaching consequences for the physical, reproductive, and mental health of women. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines IPV as any behavior within an intimate relationship by an intimate partner that causes physical, psychological, or sexual harm to those in the relationship. It is one of the most common types of violence experienced by women [1, 3]. A WHO report on global and regional estimates of violence against women found that the global lifetime prevalence of IPV among ever-partnered women was 30%, and for Africa 37% [2]. Previous studies from Nigeria have shown the prevalence of IPV to range from 31 to 61% for psychological/emotional violence, 20 to 31% for sexual violence, and 7 to 31% for physical violence [7]. Studies conducted in different regions in Nigeria have reported prevalence of IPV ranging from 42% in the North [8], 29% in the South West [9], 78.8% South East [10], to 41% in the South South [11]
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