A PRACTICAL EVALUATION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AMONG FEMALE MARKET TRADERS IN THE NORTH EASTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated the domestic violence among married market women in North Eastern
Nigeria with more focus on prevalence of domestic violence, its knowledge, and negative attitude towards reporting of domestic violence. A total of 664 market women from twelve locations were selected using Leslie Kish formula, employing stratified random sampling for various goods categories and convenient sampling for questionnaire administration. The study utilized a structured survey questionnaire divided into six sections, assessing demographics, knowledge, and attitudes towards domestic violence, with pilot testing confirming reliability across various sections. The study utilized descriptive statistics for research questions and independent t-tests for hypotheses, all analyzed at a 0.05 significance level using SPSS 21 software. The respondents' ages ranged from 16 to over 56, with 39.31% aged 26-35. Most (54.37%) had secondary education, spouses were employed, many (59.79%) earned between #51,000 and #150,000 monthly and most (53.01%) were within extended family. The study found a 75.67% prevalence of domestic violence among market women, with a mean score of 4.541, indicating that approximately 76% experienced some form of domestic violence. In a study, 64.6% of respondents feared their partners, 76.9% avoided topics to prevent annoyance, and 56.2% felt inadequate, while all believed they didn't deserve maltreatment. Market women’s negative attitudes towards reporting domestic violence, influenced by prior experiences, show a beta value of 0.220 and t-value of 3.513, significant at the 0.000 level.
The study reveals a significant correlation between market women's knowledge of domestic violence and their educational level, with tertiary-educated women demonstrating greater awareness than those with only primary education. The study found no significant difference between attitudes towards reporting domestic violence and experiencing it, with mean scores of 3.429 and 3.881, respectively, among market women. I conclusion the study reveals a 76% prevalence of domestic violence among market women, highlighting the need for education on warning signs and prevention to empower them and reduce abuse.