Rural-urban differentials in the prevalence and perception about determinants of domestic violence among couples in Lagos state, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines the rural-urban differentials in the incidence and determinants of domestic violence among couples in Lagos State, Nigeria. A mixed method research design (that consists of cross-sectional survey and in-depth interview (IDI) methods of data collection) was adopted to elicit data in the study. The study population for the cross-sectional survey consist of ever-married males and females in heterosexual relationships irrespective of their current marital status, while the study population for in-depth interview are both ever-married couples who have experienced DV and those that have experienced it and other stakeholders and opinion leaders such as community leaders, religious leaders, NGOs working on DV and government officials at the Ministry of Women and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) in Lagos State. The sample size consisted of 400 ever-married couples for the cross-sectional survey and 27 IDI respondents. Multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted to select survey respondents, while a purposive sampling method was used in the selection of IDI respondents. The study found that couples living in the urban areas reported higher prevalence of domestic violence as against their counterparts living in the rural areas of Lagos State. Based on these findings, it has been recommended that more sensitization programmes on marital harmony that are locality specific should be developed to address the challenges of DV among couples in the rural and urban areas of the State.

Keywords: Domestic Violence, Couples, Rural, Urban, Lagos State