Sexual Coercion and Violence among Young Women in Nigeria: A Northern and Southern Comparison

Growing evidence shows that the experience of sexual coercion is fairly prevalent among young people and is associated with risky sexual behavior thereafter. This study compared patterns and correlates of sexual coercion among young people in northern and southern Nigeria. This cross-sectional comparative study investigated sexual coercion among 12,626 young women aged between 15 and 24 years. Respondents were all selected from all six geopolitical zones in Nigeria and divided into three northern and southern zones respectively. Relevant information was extracted from a nationally representative sample of young women from the NDHS survey data and analyzed using SPSS for windows Version 16. About 54% of respondents in spousal relationship in the northern part of Nigeria reported occasionally being physically forced to sex when not wanted compared to about 46% southern Nigeria. About, 74% of respondents in the south had been sexually coerced or forced by persons other than partner compared to 26% in the north. Majority of perpetuators were strangers (22.2%), and friends or acquaintances (20.3%). This study indicates that spousal sexual coercion was more common in northern Nigeria while sexual coercion occurring in non-spousal relationships was more prevalent in southern Nigeria.