Researchers have identified domestic violence as a hidden barrier to contraceptive use among women in Nigeria and warned that this could compromise the effectiveness of the family planning programmes in the long run.
In a new study, researchers reported that more than four-fifths (84 per cent) of the participants were not using any contraceptive methods at all and that it was significantly associated with domestic violence (DV).
They found that women who reported physical abuse were 28 per cent less likely to use any contraception, compared to 52 per cent in those that reported both physical and psychological abuse.
Data on 22,275 women aged between 15 and 49 years were collected from the most recent Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2013.
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The researchers assessed the self-reported experience of physical and psychological abuse on contraceptive utilisation status. But it was limited male-to-female type of violence only.
The overall prevalence of contraceptive use among the study participants was strikingly low with marked disparities across age and geographic and socioeconomic factors.
In addition, results of the study published in the January 2018 edition of the Journal of Contraceptive indicated that only 2.2 per cent of the women in the households with poorest wealth status were using a contraceptive method in contrast to 46.5 per cent in the richest households.
Lack of autonomy was also shown to be associated with poor uptake of contraception and maternal health care services, but there is no significant influence of psychological abuse on contraceptive use.
They recommended that policymakers place special emphasis on developing strategies to protect women from any form of perpetration and to integrate gender issues to matters that concern women’s reproductive health.
They, however, said further researches need to be carried out to better understand the contexts of spousal abuse and the pathways through which DV and women’s ability to use family planning services interact.
The non-use of family planning methods remains a major public health concern in the low-and-middle-income countries, especially due to its impact on unwanted pregnancy, high rate of abortion, and transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.
Various demographic and socioeconomic factors such as gender discrimination and domestic violence have been reported to be associated with the non-use of family planning methods.
Violence against women is a global issue that compromises their human rights, health, well-being, and the quality of life. It is rampant and continues to affect millions of lives worldwide to which Nigeria is no exception.
Regardless of the exact cause or origin, domestic violence, it can pose serious obstacles to contraceptive use through several direct and indirect pathways.
Direct pathways can include physical mutilation that results in reduced ability to access the available services. Depression, poor self-efficacy and self-esteem, and care-seeking behaviour are among the indirect causes.
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