Domestic Violence Among Couples in Oshimili South, Delta State

Authors: Angelica Edafeghwara

Abstract: Introduction: Domestic Violence is a very serious issue. It is a violation of basic human rights. Despite the fact that women make up the majority of domestic violence victims, not all abuse is directed towards women. Domestic violence involves both parties. A victim or an abuser of any gender is possible. Men and women both use violence against one another; it happens both ways. The purpose of the study was to investigate Domestic Violence among couples in Oshimili South, Delta State. Methods: 6 research questions were raised to guide the study. Descriptive survey research was adopted in this study. The population of the study consisted of all 93,292 residents of Oshimili South Local Government Area within the ages of 15 and 64 years. The sample size comprised 400 residents selected from the population using multi-stage sampling technique. The research instrument for data collection was a self-constructed questionnaire. The instrument was validated by three experts in the field of public health, the reliability was done using test-retest reliability, and a coefficient score of 0.81 was achieved using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The instrument was administered to the respondents in their various residential places and the data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages. Result: The results revealed that there was a 79.2% prevalence of Domestic Violence, among men, and 87.5% among women. The most common form of Domestic Violence experienced was psychological abuse. It was discovered that men and women experienced this almost equally. Among the causes of Domestic Violence outlined, refusal of sex seemed to be the highest at 26%. When considering reporting, it was found that 43.5% of abused respondents had reported the abuse to either family, friend, neighbor, colleague or religious leader. 74% and 78% of respondents who suffer abuse said they have not received any form of empowerment, either in monetary form, business start-up, or skill acquisition from government or NGO respectively. Only 19% of respondents who have been abused have ever attended couples’ counseling. Though reporting was done, 40.5% of those who reported or had any other intervention in the form of empowerment or counseling, said there was no change in the violence situation. Conclusion: Suggestions were made to reduce Domestic Violence. Among them, educating the younger ones at 65.5% and creating more awareness at 42.5% received the highest support. The study concluded that the prevalence of Domestic Violence is still very high. Recommendations were given which included government funding more research, amending some laws, and for domestic violence awareness to be included in children’s educational curriculum.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18359301