Correlates of Sexual Violence Among Married Couples in Nigeria

Abstract

Sexual violence is of a global public health concern.  However, population-based studies of its correlates are limited in Nigeria. There are fewer studies that have made use of couple data, the few studies that have focused on the issue of sexual violence have mostly used data for women.  The patriarchal nature of our country makes it vital to make use of couple data.  The paper therefore sets to fill this gap. The results showed that there is sexual violence in 5% of the marital unions.  It cuts across all strata of the society. The logistic regression results showed that religion, employment status of wife, number of times been married by the Husband, wealth quintile, a history of family violence by the woman are factors that significantly affects the chances of experiencing intimate partner sexual violence. The controlling issues exercised by husbands are also significant correlates of sexual violence.  This has implications for the rights of women in a patriarchal society like Nigeria.  The results underscore the need to prevent its incidence. It is pertinent for men to be targeted as more emphasis are placed on addressing the root causes of their controlling behaviours as well as the issue of alcohol use.  There is also the need to build the capacity of young girls and adolescents to have appropriate negotiating and communication skills before entry into the marriage institutions.

Keywords: Sexual Violence, Women, Couples, Marital Union