The Prevalence of Gender-Based Violence in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Background: The protection of women’s right especially in a patriarchal setting like ours is of grave importance. Gender-based violence is a salient pandemic, affecting many lives in Nigeria. This phenomenon disproportionately affects women, who continue to face violence due to their vulnerability in a society dominated by men. The study examined the prevalence of gender-based violence in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Objectives: The study highlighted three objectives to include assessing the prevalence of sexual violence, physical violence, and emotional violence against women and girls in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Method: A descriptive research design was employed in this study and the population comprised women and girls with cases of gender-based violence in Akwa Ibom South. Simple random and snowball sampling techniques were used to draw a sample size of 150 respondents. Instrument for data collection was structured questionnaire and the data was analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences through descriptive statistics. Results: The research found that there is high prevalence of sexual and physical violence against women and girls in Akwa Ibom State; every woman/girl encounters emotional violence sometime in their life; there is low level of reporting incidents of sexual and physical violence; emotional violence is obviously considered insignificance and as such unreported. Recommendations: The study recommends among others that the government, NGOs, and civil organizations should engage communities in discussions and actions against policies and cultural barriers affecting women’s right, consistently raise awareness on GBV and its consequences, strengthen the legal framework to ensure laws against GBV are enforceable, and provide accessible and adequate support services to GBV survivors.