Analyzing the relationship between the experience of intimate partner violence and female internet use in Nigeria

Abstract

Female internet use is abysmally low (17.48%) in Nigeria, and it has become an issue of serious concern due to its negative impact on their health and economic well-being. While most of the scholarly debates centers on the influence of individual socio-economic characteristics and geographical factors to understand and improve female internet use, this study contributes to the literature by interrogating the role of women's experience of intimate partner violence (IPV) and other socio-economic and geographical factors based on the social theory of internet use. We conduct spatial and logistic regression analyses using the 2018 cross-sectional Demographic and Health Survey of 41,821 women aged 15–49. The spatial analysis shows a significant concentration of female internet non-use in the Northern region relative to the South, while the binary logistic regression analysis indicates that the experience of IPV, age, wealth status, education, being married, urban location, and residing in Northern Nigeria are significant predictors of female internet use. The study recommends tailoring support systems and interventions that acknowledge the unique challenges faced by survivors of IPV and the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of women to achieve greater internet use.