KNOWLEDGE AND PREDICAMENTS OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

Over time, the ideals and provisions of laws and values that emphasize equity, mutual respect, social justice, equal opportunity for both gender leave much to be desired, particularly among sub-Saharan African countries, including Nigeria. The incidence of domestic violence (DV) in Nigeria is generating widespread concern, given the growing cases of rape, battery/beating, sexual harassment, and all sorts of sexual molestations. The study objective was to identify determinants of domestic violence in the study area and recommend how to curb this obnoxious practice. Women residing in randomly selected wards in Somolu Local Government Area of Lagos State formed the respondents and survey assisted by community informants. Both questionnaire and focus group discussions methods were employed to generate data. The findings depict that both ever had sex against the will (P=0.005) and partners under frequent stress (P = 0.000) had significant relationship with the dependent variable (ever beaten by spouse). The study recommends women's education beyond the secondary level to empower them, job opportunity for men to reduce stress levels among partners, and accelerated community awareness towards reducing DV incidence among communities in the study area