Associations Between Endorsement of Inequitable Gender Norms and Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Youth in Nigeria: Violence Against Children Survey,2014

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess whether the endorsement of inequitable gender norms about intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) and sexual behavior was associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization, IPV perpetration, and sexual risk behavior. Nigerian youth aged 13–24 (n = 4,203) participated in the nationally representative, cross-sectional Nigeria Violence Against Children Survey (VACS) in 2014. Inequitable gender norms about IPVAW were assessed using six items from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), and inequitable gender norms about sexual behavior were assessed using four items adapted from the Gender-Equitable Men (GEM) scale. The number of inequitable gender norms endorsed was summed and associations with having been a victim or perpetrator of IPV and sexual risk behaviors were assessed using logistic regression. Endorsing 3 or more inequitable gender norms about either IPVAW or sexual behavior were both associated with increased odds of IPV victimization, perpetration, and sexual risk behaviors, after adjustment for demographic characteristics, witnessing violence in childhood, and having been a victim of other forms of childhood violence. Demonstrating that endorsement of inequitable gender norms about sexual behavior was associated with violence and that inequitable gender norms about IPVAW were associated with sexual risk behaviors further highlights potential linkages between violence and HIV.