Gender-based violence in a rural Nigerian community during the COVID-19 era: a call for policy action

Abstract

Introduction: gender-based violence (GBV) is a global pandemic which is deeply rooted in culture, hence the need to contextually  understand its occurrence and patterns in rural settings. The objective of this study assessed respondents´ attitude, prevalence, the  perceived risk factors, patterns and predictors of GBV in Ife-Odan, Osun State, Nigeria.

Methods: cross-sectional study design was used  and multi-stage sampling method employed to recruit 450 consenting adults. A pretested interviewer-administered, semistructured  questionnaire was used for data collection. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were carried out.

Results: mean age (±SD) of the  respondents was 30.73±7.0, 58.7% of them were females and 88.0% had negative attitude to GBV. Prevalence of any form of GBV was  16.2%. Predominant GBV types included intimate partner violence (IPV) (58.3%), female genital mutilation (FGM) (31.1%), Sexual violence (6.9%) and incest (3.4%). Perceived risk factors of GBV included cultural acceptance, substance abuse, lack of punishments for GBV  offenders, indecent female dressing styles, social media influences, effects of COVID-19 lockdown and male dominance. However, gender (AOR=7.82; 95%CI=2.35-8.17), marital status (AOR=3.23;95%CI=1.82-3.78), religion (AOR=5.02;95%CI=1.78-9.63) and attitude (AOR=4.23;  95%CI=2.267-5.82) were the significant predictors of past GBV experiences in the study setting.

Conclusion: gender-based violence (GBV)  is prevalent in the study setting, with IPV being the most common. There is need for policymakers to focus on cultural transformation by  designing a robust awareness campaign against GBV in rural Nigerian communities. Traditional and religious leaders should be  sensitized and involved in the campaign programs using all available channels of communication. Laws prohibiting perpetration of GBV  need to be fully implemented.