Prevalence and Correlates of Spouse Violence Among Women in a Primary Health Care Facility in Lagos Nigeria

Background: Violence against women is a major public health problem that affects millions of women each year worldwide. Spouse violence is said to have three broad dimensions: physical, psychological and sexual, but these often overlap in reality. Aims: The aims of the study were to determine the prevalence of spouse violence among women of reproductive age group 15 to 50 yrs attending a primary care clinic in Yaba, Lagos state and to describe the patterns of spouse violence. Method: Three hundred and twenty one participants, who were patients and/or mothers of (children) patients, were selected through a systematic sampling method; 265 of them eventually participated in the study (82.5% response rate). A questionnaire on domestic violence was used to collect data. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 10. Results: The results showed a high life time prevalence rate of violence of 50.9 % among the women. The most commonly experienced physical abuse was demand for sex when the women did not want it (52.2%). Marital rape accounted for 21%. Controlling actions, associated with psychological trauma, were found in 71.9% of the participants; while about 35% had felt afraid of their partners at some time.