WOMEN EXPERIENCING VIOLENCE

In Nigeria, domestic violence cuts across all socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. About 28 percent of all women have experienced physical violence since age 15. Women who are divorced, separated, or widowed are far more likely to have experienced physical violence than other women. Forty-two percent of divorced, separated, or widowed women reported experiencing violence since age 15, as compared with 25 percent of women who are married or living together with a partner and 35 percent of never-married women.

Around 7 percent of women age 15-49 reported that they had experienced sexual violence at some time. Women who are divorced, separated, or widowed are more likely to have experienced sexual violence (15 percent) than currently married women (7 percent) and never-married women (8 percent).

Overall, 30 percent of women reported that they had experienced either physical or sexual violence. About one in five women experienced only physical violence, 2 percent experienced only sexual violence, and 6 percent experienced both physical and sexual violence. There is not substantial variation in the experience of different forms of violence by age.

The states are ranked by the percentage of women who have reported either experiencing physical or sexual violence.