Abstract

Violence against women represents an obstacle to economic and social development. It saps women’s energy, undermines their confidence, compromises their health status and deprives the society of women’s full participation. Violence against women occurs in all countries, all culture and at every level of society without exception but the prevalence, frequency and consequences varies. This study estimated the prevalence, frequency and consequences of violence against women using empirical data from southwest Nigeria. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from a sample of 360 ever married or cohabiting women who were selected using a multi-stage stratified random sampling technique from the six states (Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Ogun, Ekiti and Lagos) that make up the southwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Quantitative data was generated through interview, while in-depthinterview and focus group discussion provided the qualitative data for the study. Quantitative data was processed using SPSS to generate simple percentages and logistic regression analysis and qualitative data was analyzed using ATLAS.ti. Violence against women was measured using a Shorthand and Modified Conflict Tactics Scale. Results indicated prevalence rate of 45%. More than one in every four women reported sexual violence (28.8%), and 48% of the women who have experienced violence in the 12months preceding the survey had been attacked more than once, while 22% had experienced severe violence more than six times. Violence varies with parity, union and educational status. Consequences of violence include among others; loss of self-esteem, poor health and psychological depression. The study recommended enactment of laws that criminalizes violence against women, sponsor of media campaign to communicate norms that define violence against women as unacceptable and integration of gender awareness training, parenting skills and non-violent conflict resolution into elementary and high school curricula.