International Federation of Women Lawyers says almost a quarter of Nigerian ladies have suffered domestic violence

ALMOST one quarter of Nigerian women have been the victims of physical or sexual violence committed by their previous husbands according to a recent survey by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida).

In its latest report, Fida expressed concern over the rising spate of gender violence in Nigeria, saying 23% of women have been victims at one time or another. Among the factors outlined by Fida as causing violence against women in Nigeria included male dominance and control, power hierarchies, anti-social personality disorder and lower level of education and community norms that ascribe higher status to men than women.

Furthermore, the organisation also quoted The Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, which reported that out of the over 70,000 African victims of women trafficking, Nigerian women accounted for 70% of those trafficked to Italy alone, with a large number of them claiming to be from Edo State. Ifeanyi Iloba, Fida's programme officer, revealed these statistics in a presentation during a workshop on the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls held in Abuja for law enforcement agents.

He referred to United Nations Women, an international organisation, which raised the alarm that gender-based violence had become a global pandemic affecting one in three women in their lifetime. He also quoted the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) which placed Edo State high in the hierarchy of 36,312 migrants stranded in Niger and Libya.

Mr Iloba said: “Some 35%of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence, while globally, 7% of women have been sexually assaulted by someone other than a partner. Globally, 38% of murders of women are committed by intimate partners while 200m women have experienced female genital mutilation.

"Also, a UN report shows women in Africa are most at risk of violence and in Nigeria, 23% of women have been victims of physical or sexual violence committed by a previous husband. As of December 2017, 36,312 migrants stranded in Niger and Libya indicated Nigeria as their country of origin.

"According to IOM, as of July 2018, over 60,000 Nigerians were trapped in Libya, with 50% of them hailing from Edo State. Some 90% of migrant women going to Italy from Libya arrive with bruises and other signs of violence as human trafficking is the third most common crime in Nigeria after drug trafficking and economic fraud."

He added that the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons further contends that 75% of those who are trafficked within Nigeria are moved across states, while 23% are trafficked within states. Only 2% of these people are trafficked outside the country.