Influence of Women’s Attitude on the Perpetration of Gender-Based Domestic Violence in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines the influence of women’s attitude (tolerance level) towards domestic gender-based violence on the perpetration of domestic gender-based violence in Nigeria. With the aid of 2008 Nigeria  Demographic and Health Survey women dataset, the authors were able to establish the following 1. Correlate between place of residence (urban/rural and geo-political zones) and the occurrence of gender-based violence in Nigeria, 2. Compare the attitude of women towards gender-based violence among the six geopolitical zones in the country and 3. Examine the relationship between women’s attitude towards gender-based violence and the perpetration of gender-based violence in each of the geopolitical zones in the country. In all, 31.22% of Nigeria women have experienced at least one form of domestic violence in Nigeria. A relatively tolerance level (44.13%) was discovered among Nigeria women. Consequentially, the study established a positively significant relationship between women attitude (tolerance level) and the incidence of domestic violence against women in the country. The findings suggest that campaigning for attitudinal change by women to displaying a zero tolerance towards gender-based violence will go a long way in protecting women and vulnerable populations against violence.

Keywords: violence, gender-based, perpetration, geopolitical, Nigeria