MEASURING THE SHADOW PANDEMIC:

VIOLENCE AGAINSTWOMEN DURING
COUNTRY REPORT: NIGERIAEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Violence against women (VAW) is pervasivein Nigeria and has only gotten worse as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as serious economic challenges and health risks increased
throughout the country, unduly burdening
women1 and increasing the vulnerability of
those already vulnerable. In addition, indirect
impacts of COVID-19 vary in type and severity
based on pre-existing factors, including socioeconomic status, environment and vulnerability to other stressors. This research delves into
the relationships between measures of VAW
and related demographic, behavioural and socioeconomic factors.

1

This study found that women’s baseline feelings of safety in Nigeria, whether inside oroutside of their households, have eroded since
the onset of COVID-19, with significant negative impacts on their mental and emotional
well-being. Among the drivers of these feelings, stressors such as food insecurity and decreased income stood out as having a significant impact not only on experiences of safety(or violence) but also on women’s well-being
overall.

Tan et al. 2021. “https://www.genderandcovid-19.org/
wp-content/uploads/2021/09/PAC00467_Gender-andCovid-19-Nigerias-Pandemic-Response.pdf” Gender and
COVID-19 Project.

2

1. INTRODUCTION
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria’s last
Demographic and Health Survey revealed that
21% of women aged 15–49 had experienced
physical violence and/or sexual violence froman intimate partner at least once in their
lifetime,2 which is below the global estimatedaverage of 27%.3

adapting the surveying methodology to be feasible in the COVID-19 context, proxy measureson experiences of VAW were used to collectdata on sensitive topics to reduce the risk to
the respondents, and thus may not be directlycomparable to other studies conducted before
the pandemic.

Since the pandemic began, rapid gender assessments (RGAs) conducted by UN Women
using administrative data from police, VAW
hotlines and other service-providers suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased
risk factors for women and intensified some ofthe existing forms of VAW.4 Measures implemented to limit the spread of the pandemic,
such as lockdowns and curfews, have had
an impact on VAW risk factors, especially for
women and girls who face multiple forms of
discrimination.

Having reliable data that are collected in linewith methodological, safety and ethical standards, without putting women at greater
distress and risk of violence, is critical to informing where policies and programmes can
respond to the UN’s system-wide efforts toscale up actions to address VAW in the context
of COVID-19.

Within this context, UN Women commissioned Ipsos to conduct an RGA survey on theimpact of COVID-19 on women’s well-being
and safety in 13 countries across regions. In

National Population Commission and ICF International.
2019. Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2018. p. 446.
3 World Health Organization. 2021. “National Estimates
2000-2018” Global Database on Violence against Women.
4 UN Women. 2020. COVID-19 and Ending Violence against
Women and Girls.

This report details the findings of the survey
in Nigeria from 17 August–27 September 2021.
The survey was conducted with women aged
18 and older who had access to a mobile phone– a population that was estimated to be 86%of the total population of women aged 18 years
and older in Nigeria.5

2

5

GSMA. 2021. Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Nigeria

3

KEY FINDINGS
48%
of women said
that they or other
women they know
have experienced aform of violence.

21%

18%

17%

VerbalAbuse

SexualHarassment

PhysicalViolence

21%

39%

of women feel unsafe intheir homes.

said this has gotten worse as a resultof the COVID-19 pandemic.

22%

16%

of women live in households withconflict among adults at least weekly.

said conflict between adults has
become more frequent as a result of
the COVID-19 pandemic.

53%
of women think that the experience of
verbal or physical abuse at the hands ofa partner is common for women in theircommunity.

74%
said this has gotten worse as a resultof the COVID-19 pandemic.

65%

25%

of women think that physical harm,abuse and harassment are a problem
for women in their community.

of women think physical harm, abuse,and harassment has gotten worse since
the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

50% walking alone at night.
of women feel unsafe

21% walking alone during the day.
of women feel unsafe

67%
of women think that it iscommon for women to
be harassed in public.

4

2. EXPERIENCES OF VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMEN
2.1. Proxy measures of violenceagainst women in the community
When considering measures of violenceagainst women at the community level, it isimportant to keep the context of the study inmind. Due to the remote nature of this survey,
indirect questions were asked as proxy indicators of VAW, meaning it was not possible to distinguish respondent experiences from those ofother women in their community or whether
this experience occurred within or outside of
the household. Therefore, while data from thisstudy should not be interpreted as prevalencedata, it nevertheless provides critical information on the impact of COVID-19 on women’s
perception of well-being and safety.

Nearly 7 out of 10 women (68%) in Nigeria
have experienced or know a woman who has
experienced a form of VAW in their lifetime(including physical violence, denial of basic
needs, sexual harassment, forced isolationor verbal abuse),6 and 22% have experienced
VAW only since the onset of the pandemic.
Women who reported feeling unsafe in theirhomes (84%) were more likely to say they had
been exposed to VAW compared to those who
felt safe (64%), as were women who had felt
unsafe walking alone, whether it was during
the day or at night (70, compared to 64% of
women who had not), suggesting that some
women may be reporting their own experiences with VAW.

6

Cognitive testing of this question revealed that for many
women forced isolation and denial of basic needs were
influenced by COVID-19-related measures and economic
stress. The results from this study suggest that women may
bear a disproportionate burden when it comes to COVID-19
effects; however, it is important to keep the overall context
in mind when interpreting results.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Nigeria

5

FIGURE 1

Experience or knowledge of specific forms of VAW, over a lifetime and since COVID-19

51%

24%



All women27%All women

1%

26%

40%

26%

All women

Sexualharassment

All women

Experience or knowledge
in lifetime



36%

57%



42%



47%



Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone
Experience or knowledge
exclusively since COVID-19

52%



Among women who felt
unsafe at home
1%

42%









60%

Among women who felt
unsafe at home

36%

1%

20%



40%

1%





63%

Among women who felt
unsafe at homeAmong women who felt
unsafe walking alone



62%
18%

57%



32%



1%



2%

47%

Among women who felt
unsafe walking aloneForcedisolation





59%

36%





24%

52%





1%
43%

Among women who felt
unsafe at home

29%







55%

Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone



56%



51%



1%



1%

Denial of
basic
needs

44%







21%

1%





Verbalabuse

Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone



48%
25%





1%

43%

46%
27%







All women





19%



48%

55%



38%





17%



Physicalviolence



1%





60%

2%





2%

53%



Among women who felt
unsafe at home
No experienceor knowledge

Note: “Don’t know” responses in the dark grey bars comprised 2% or less of total responses in each category6In addition to personal experiences of safety
being associated with experiences or knowledge of VAW, younger women aged 18 to 39
were significantly more likely to say they had
experienced or know a woman who has experienced VAW in their lifetime (71, compared to
62% among women aged 40 and older). Whenlooking at experience or knowledge of VAW
only since the onset of COVID-19, women aged
60 and older were significantly less likely tohave experiences or knowledge of VAW whencompared to women under 60 (12 compared
to 23%, respectively). In particular, younger
women aged 18 to 29 were the most likely tohave experienced or know a woman who has
experienced forced isolation since the onset ofthe pandemic (30%), while women aged 60 orolder were the most likely to have experiences
or knowledge of forced isolation prior to thepandemic (20%), suggesting that lockdownrelated measures may be having an impact on
results, particularly for younger women.
Women in urban areas were more likely thanthose in rural areas to have experienced or
know someone who has experienced physicalviolence (39, compared to 31% in rural areas)or verbal abuse (50, compared to 37% in rural
areas) in their lifetime. However, women inrural areas were more likely that those in urban areas to have experienced a type of VAW

exclusively since the onset of the pandemic(29 compared to 21%, respectively), suggestingthat this group of women may have been hit
harder by the impacts of COVID-19.
Economic indicators also appear to be associated with experience or knowledge of VAW, as
women who said they are unemployed weremore likely than women on average to say they
have been exposed to physical violence (51,compared to 38% on average) or verbal abuse(60, compared to 48% on average) in their lifetime. Similarly, women who said their income
has decreased over the past year were more
likely to have experienced or know a woman
who has experienced several forms of VAW exclusively since the onset of COVID-19: physicalviolence (19, compared to 14% of those who did
not experience a drop in income), denial of basic needs (26 compared to 20%, respectively),and forced isolation (29 compared to 21%, respectively).
The impact of economic stress on VAW was
also seen in looking at food security data,
where women who said they or someone theyknow have experienced a form of VAW (bothin their lifetime and since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic) were more likely to be foodinsecure (whether moderately or severely)
than those who had not.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Nigeria

7

3. FEELINGS OF SAFETY
3.1. Personal safety inside the homelikely than those with infrequent household
conflict to say that the frequency has increased
as a result of the pandemic, suggesting that already existing household tensions have been
exacerbated. The impact of the pandemic wasfelt more positively in other households, withnearly 4 in 10 (38%) saying that conflict has become less frequent as a result of COVID-19.

When it comes to safety within the household,
22% of women said that there has been conflict between adults in their household at least
weekly over the past six months and 16% said
that conflict has become more frequent since
the onset of COVID-19. Those who experienced
frequent conflict were nearly three times more
FIGURE 2

Changes in frequency of household conflict as a result of COVID-19

All women

16%

Among women fromhouseholds withfrequent conflict
between adults
Among women fromhouseholds with
infrequent conflict
between adults

44%

32%

11%

45%

43%

More frequent

2%

38%

23%

44%

About the same2%

Less frequent

Note: “Don’t know” responses in the dark grey bars comprised 2% or less of total responses in each category

Over a fifth of women (21%) said they havefelt unsafe in their household in the last six
months, and 39% of all women said that the
COVID-19 pandemic has made things worse.
Those who felt unsafe in their homes weretwice as likely as those who felt safe to saythat COVID-19 has made things worse (64compared to 32%, respectively). Those who
experienced frequent conflict (at least weekly) between adults in the household were
nearly twice as likely as women who had notexperienced frequent conflict to have felt unsafe in their homes, as were women who reported experiencing or knowing someone who
had experienced VAW in their lifetime (27%).
Both groups were also significantly more likely
to feel that COVID-19 had made things worse.
These data points suggest that some of thewomen in the study are likely reporting theirown experiences, and underscore COVID-19’s
likely exacerbation of already existing domestic safety issues.

8

FIGURE 3

Perceptions of women’s safety in the household, by frequency of household conflict
Felt unsafe at home in thepast six months

Felt less safe at home since
the onset of COVID-19

58%

34%

33%
18%

34%

18%

Frequent household conflict

Occasional household conflict

Unemployed women were more likely thanthose who were employed to report feelingunsafe at home (31 compared to 20%, respectively), and those who felt unsafe were more
likely to be severely food insecure – again indicating that economic and financial struggle
can significantly impact household dynamics. Additionally, women in rural areas weremore likely than those in urban areas to say
they have felt unsafe at home (29 compared
to 20%, respectively) and to say that their feelings of safety at home have gotten worse since
the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (17 compared to 12%, respectively).
When asked why they have felt unsafe in theirhomes, women in Nigeria cited shelter insecurity (such as their home having no locks) andNo household conflictinability to communicate or reach out for help
as the top drivers of this feeling. Alongside an
inability to communicate or reach out for help,
women who experienced frequent householdarguments or conflict were much more likely
than those who did not to report substanceabuse in the home (25%), verbal abuse (40%),
physical violence (29%), another adult having hurt them (38%), or another women having been hurt (39%) as reasons for feelingunsafe in their homes. Women who reported
experiencing or knowing someone who had
experienced VAW were more likely to experience this than women who did not on almost
all prompted drivers, suggesting again thatsome women were likely reporting their own
experiences.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Nigeria

9

FIGURE 4

Reasons for women feeling unsafe in their homes (among the 21% who reported feeling unsafe)
My shelter is insecure (e.g., there are no locks)

33%

I was unable to communicate/reach out for help

30%

Other women in the household had been hurt

29%

Other adults in the househols had hurt me28%

I was living with people I could not trust

27%

There was verbal abuse in my household

25%

There was physical abuse in my household

24%Children in the household had been hurt

23%

There was substance abuse (e.g., alcohol or drugs) in the household

16%

I had a serious medical condition or disability and felt vulnerable

12%

Another reason

26%

Indicates reasons most closely tied to violence

3.2. Personal safety in public spaces
When out in their communities, the majorityof women said they feel safe walking aroundthe areas where they live during the day (79%),
but this drops to 48% when asked the samequestion about walking alone at night, andover 4 out of 10 (43%) said they feel less safe
while out at night since the start of COVID-19.
Women who said their income had decreased
over the past year were more likely than those
who did not experience a drop in income tosay they felt unsafe (24 compared to 15%, respectively, during the day, and 54 compared to41%, respectively, at night) and to say that thishas gotten worse since the start of COVID-19(47 compared to 37%, respectively). Nearly 1 in
6 women (59%) who felt unsafe walking alone(whether it was during the day or at night) said

they feel less safe now compared to before
COVID-19, as did 26% of women who reported
feeling safe walking alone.
Additionally, women living in rural areas weremuch more likely than those in urban areas tofeel unsafe, whether it was during the day (30and 20%, respectively) or at night (59 and 49%,
respectively), though they were nearly twice as
likely to say they feel more safe walking alone
since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (32,compared to 19% of women in urban areas),suggesting these numbers may have beeneven higher pre-pandemic among women living in rural areas.
Women who said that they, or another woman
they know, had experienced a type of VAW in
their lifetime were also more likely to feel unsafe walking alone, whether it was during the10

day or at night, pointing to the broad implications that VAW can have on women’s feelingsof safety in public. Additionally, women who
felt unsafe walking alone (whether it was during the day or at night) were less likely to leave

their house alone daily compared to women
who always felt safe walking alone in public(58, compared to 64%), suggesting that feelings of safety may have an impact on women’s
mobility and access to public spaces.

FIGURE 5

Perceptions of safety while out in public, by experience or knowledge of VAW in a lifetime
Felt unsafe walking
alone during the day

Felt unsafe walking
alone at night

52%

46%

Felt less safe since theonset of COVID-19

45%

40%

25%
14%

VAW reported (respondentor someone she knows)

The study suggests that feelings of safety inpublic have been impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic. A decrease of feelings of safety inpublic since the onset of COVID-19 was particularly pronounced among women who
said they were already feeling unsafe walking alone (whether it was during the day orat night), who were more than twice as likely to report feeling less safe since the startof the pandemic than women who did not(59 compared to 26%, respectively), as were
women who said VAW was a problem in their

No VAW reported

communities (50%). These data points suggestthat the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbatedexisting safety issues for women in Nigeria already feeling at risk.
Women who said they were single (48%), unemployed (57%), and/or a student (53%) were
all significantly more likely than women on
average (43%) to feel less safe alone at night
since the start of COVID-19, though none ofthese groups were more likely than others tofeel less safe in public generally.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Nigeria

11

4. PERCEPTIONS OF VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMEN
4.1. Women’s perceived safetyinside the home
When considering the broader community,
more than half (53%) of women said they
think that the experience of verbal or physicalabuse at the hands of a partner is common for
women. Among women who perceived violence, abuse or harassment to be a problem
in their community, this number increases to68%. Nearly three-quarters of women (74%)
thought things have gotten worse since thestart of the pandemic in terms of women experiencing partner abuse.
Women who were married or lived with apartner and those who had children in thehousehold were both more likely than theircounterparts to say that physical and verbal
abuse at the hands of a partner was common
for women (55 compared with 49% and 54
compared with 48%, respectively), suggestingthat household tensions and dynamics have asignificant impact on VAW inside the home.
Additionally, women who felt unsafe in theirhomes (61, compared to 50% of women who
felt safe) and women who reported frequenthousehold arguments or conflict (65, compared to 48% who reported infrequent arguments or conflict) were also significantly more
likely to perceive partner violence as common in their communities, again suggestingthat women’s own experiences colour theirthoughts about the community.

FIGURE 6

Perceptions of partner abuse, by perceptions of safety

All women

17%

Among women who
thought violence, abuse, orharassment is a problem
in their community

23%

Among women who
had felt unsafe intheir home

24%

Very common

35%

29%

45%

37%

CommonUncommon

17%

24%

25%

2%

6% 2%

12% 2%

Very uncommon

Note: “Don’t know” responses in the dark grey bars comprised 2% or less of total responses in each category

12

Women who reported a decrease in income
were also much more likely to think partner
abuse was common in their communities
than those with unchanged income (55 compared to 45%, respectively) and to perceive an
increase since the start of the COVID-19 (78compared to 66%, respectively). Women who
reported that partner abuse was common in
their communities were also more likely to be
food insecure than those who were not, pointing again to the role that economic, financial
and structural factors play as risk factors anddrivers of VAW.

Women who reported that they have experienced or know someone who has experienced
VAW in their lifetime (59%) were also much
more likely than those who have not (37%) toperceive partner abuse as common in theircommunities, and those who reported physical violence or verbal abuse, in particular, weremore likely to say that it had gotten worse
since the start of the pandemic. These data
bolster the evidence-based theory of the continuum of VAW that crosses public and private
spaces, with women who reported safety incidents happening within the home being more
likely to think that abuse is common in thecommunity overall.

FIGURE 7

Perceptions of partner violence, by experience or knowledge of VAW in lifetime
Thought abuse at the hands ofa partner is common

Thought abuse at the hands of a partner has
gotten worse since the onset of COVID-19

76%

70%

64%

63%
46%

Yes

77%
71%

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced physical abuse

41%

Yes

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced verbal abuse

Similar to experiences of violence outside thehome, the majority of women (84%) said they
believe that women would seek out help ifthey experienced verbal or physical abuse at
the hands of a partner. However, unlike the
29% of women who expected women experiencing public VAW to primarily seek help fromthe police, just 6% of women expected womenexperiencing intimate partner violence to first

Yes

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced physical abuse

Yes

No

Women or someone they know
has experienced verbal abuseapproach the police, suggesting that domestic
violence may be underreported to authorities
in comparison with other forms of VAW. In
the case of partner violence, women expected
women to seek help first from family (37%), followed by primary support from women’s shelters, groups, centres and NGOs (30%), thoughreligious leaders were also a common sourceof primary support (10%).

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Nigeria

13

Women who said they were married or livingwith a partner and those involved in incomegenerating activities were less likely thanthose who were not to expect women to seek
help primarily from their families (33% and34%, respectively) than to draw on other resources. Both married or partnered womenand those who generated income said they
believe women experiencing abuse at thehands of a partner would most likely go first
to women’s shelters, centres or NGOs (31 and
32%, respectively), and 11% of married or partnered women thought women would first go
to religious leaders. While family support was
the most common answer for women who
felt unsafe within their homes, they were alsomuch more likely than women who felt safe
to expect women to primarily approach community leaders for support (8 compared to 4%,
respectively) or go to a health facility first (2compared to 0%, respectively).

As with experiences in public spaces, relianceon more informal support networks may be
driven by low availability or awareness of support available to women. Few women said
they knew of support services including accessto basic needs (29%), medical support (36%),
financial support (14%), or even information
about security and crime prevention (37%),
suggesting that further work is needed to not
only provide resources to women, but to makesure they are aware and able to access them.
This was particularly the case for women who
said they had felt unsafe at home, who weremore likely than those who felt safe to say that
services were not available to women in theircommunity. For instance, 71% of women who
felt unsafe at home said access to basic needs
was not available to women in their community compared to 65% of women who felt safe,and 63% of women who felt unsafe at homesaid information about security/crime prevention was not available to women in theircommunity compared to 57% of women who
felt safe.

144.2. Perceptions of violence against
women in the community

lence, abuse or the harassment of women in
the community was significantly more likely
to be perceived as a problem by women whothemselves felt unsafe within their homes andthose who experienced frequent householdarguments or conflict, as well as by women
who felt unsafe walking around alone.

When asked about violence, abuse and harassment of women in their community, nearly athird of women (32%) said they believe it is atleast somewhat of problem, and an additional 33% said it is a little bit of a problem. VioFIGURE 8

Extent to which violence, abuse or the harassment of women are a problem in the community

All women

13%

Among those who
felt unsafe walking
around alone

18%

Among those
who felt unsafe
in their home

22%

Among those who
experienced frequenthousehold conflictat least weekly

21%

A lot

19%

33%

23%

19%

33%

2%

37%

21%

1%

35%

23%

1%

28%

32%

19%

Somewhat

A little bit

Not at all

Note: “Don’t know” responses in the dark grey bars comprised 1% or less of total responses in each category

Women who were married or living with apartner (35%) were more likely than separated,divorced or widowed women (24%) to perceive
violence, abuse or the harassment of womenas a major problem in their communities. Additionally, 70% of women who reported decreased income in the past year were more
likely to perceive violence, abuse or the harassment of women as a problem, suggesting linkages between economic stress and VAW.

Additionally, a quarter of women (25%) said
violence, abuse or the harassment of women
had increased in their community since thestart of the COVID-19 pandemic. Women who
reported a decrease in income (28%) weremore likely to say that these things had increased than those who reported no change
in their income, as were those living in rural
areas (35, compared to 23% of women living inurban areas).

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Nigeria

15

Those who felt unsafe within their homes(36%) as well as those who felt unsafe walking
around alone outside, either during the day orat night (34%) were all much more likely to saythat violence, abuse and the harassment of
women had increased than those who felt safe
within their homes (22%) or safe walking outside (14%). Further, women who said violence,
abuse or the harassment of women in theircommunity are a problem were nine times
more likely to say things have gotten worse
since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (36,compared to 4% among those who did not)emphasizing that the pandemic has had thelargest negative impacts on those who werealready experiencing or aware of VAW.

4.3. Women’s perceived safety inpublic spaces
Women’s perceptions of the safety of womenin Nigeria are in line with their perceptions of
their own safety in the public spaces. Nearly

half of surveyed women (46%) said they think
it is common for women to experience harassment and safety issues in public at night,
consistent with 50% of women who said they
themselves feel unsafe walking alone at night.
In fact, most women who felt unsafe walking
at night (60%) reported that harassment andsafety issues in public at night were common.
More than two-thirds of women (67%) saidharassment and safety issues for women atnight have gotten worse since the onset of
COVID-19. Women who reported having experienced or knowing another woman who had
experienced VAW were more likely to perceivethat women experiencing public safety issues
at night is common than those who did not (52compared to 35%, respectively). However, they
were no more likely to think that this has gotten worse since the start of the pandemic than
women who thought that VAW was a problem
in their community.

FIGURE 9

Perceptions of women’s safety in public at night, by perceptions of violence, abuse or theharassment of women in the community
Thought women experiencing
safety issues while out at nightis commonThought women experiencing safety
while out at night has gotten worse
since the onset of COVID-19

70%
58%

62%

22%

Yes

No

Thought violence, abuse, or harassment
is a problem in their community

Yes

No

Thought violence, abuse, or harassment
is a problem in their community

16

Women in rural areas (52%) were also more
likely than women in urban areas (45%) toview public safety issues at night as common.
Additionally, women involved in income-generating activities (49%), who were more likely
to leave the house on their own on a daily basis, were more likely to perceive publish safetyissues at night as common than those not involved in these activities (37%), although theirthoughts on changes in safety in public spaces since COVID-19 did not differ. Conversely,
women in rural areas were more than twice as
likely as urban women to say public safety has
gotten better (15 compared to 6%, respectively), consistent with findings on women’s own
experience in public spaces.
The majority of women (83%) expected thatwomen experiencing harassment or abuse inpublic spaces would seek help, and nearly 3
out of 10 women (29%) said that they expected
women would seek help from the police, whichaligns with the 33% of women who said thatlegal support or help in reporting incidents
and dealing with police in their communities
are available to women in their communities.
A fifth of women (20%) believed that theywould seek support from family and an equal
percentage said they would seek support fromwomen’s shelters, centres or NGOs. More than
1 in 10 (13%) said women would approach community leaders.
Women who have experienced or know someone who has experienced VAW (82%) weresignificantly less likely than those who did not(86%) to believe that women would seek help
for such incidents, and were less likely to expect that women would primarily go to thepolice (26, compared to 34% among women
who had no experience or knowledge of VAW)
and more likely to say that women would most
likely seek help from women’s shelters, centres
or NGOs (22 compared to 16%, respectively).
Women who said they felt unsafe walking

alone at night or during the day were also lesslikely to expect women to go to the police (25,compared with 32% of women who always feltsafe) and more likely to say that women would
seek help from helplines first (3 compared to
1%, respectively).
Women with disabilities and those in rural
areas said that women were most likely toseek help primarily from family (22 and 28%,
respectively) or approach community leaders
first (18 and 14%, respectively), suggesting thatdifferent sources of support may be available
to these groups. Seeking help from family inrural areas is perhaps unsurprising given the
low levels of awareness and access women inthese areas have to support services. Acrossall areas of possible support, women living inrural areas of Nigeria were less likely to saythat they knew of services than those in urban
areas. Just 20% said they had access to legal
support, help in reporting incidents, or dealing
with police, compared to 36% in urban areas.
Similarly, only 25% were aware of information
about security or crime prevention, compared
to 39% in urban areas, and just 23% said they
had access to medical support compared to
39% in urban areas.
Although it is clear that Nigerian women havean increased sense of anxiety and fear outsideof the household, this had not stopped themfrom engaging in public life. The vast majorityof women (95%) said that they have left theirhouse on their own at least once a week in thepast month. However, employed women weremuch more likely to say that they have left
their homes alone daily (70, compared to 30%
among full-time caregivers), as were women
involved in any type of income-generating
activity (66, compared to 45% among women
who were not). Those who reported decreased
household income since the start of the pandemic were more likely to report leaving homeby themselves 2–3 days a week.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Nigeria

17

5. IMPACTS OF VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMENThis study indicates strong relationships between measures of VAW, women’s behaviour
and their feelings of mental and emotional
well-being. While a substantial proportion of
women generally said they experience symptoms of anxiety and depression, women who
said they had felt unsafe were more likely toexperience symptoms of anxiety and depression at least half the days since the onset of
COVID-19 and to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted them negatively. This indicates that impressions and experiences ofsafety (or lack thereof) may be significantly associated with women’s overall well-being.

FIGURE 10

Measures of mental health, by feelings of safety
Had little interest or
pleasure in doing things at
least half of the days since
the onset of COVID-19

27%

Not been able to stop or
control worrying at least
half of the days since theonset of COVID-19

26%

Felt down, depressedor hopeless at least
half of the days since
the onset of COVID-19

All women

Felt unsafe at home

Nearly half of women (46%) said the COVID-19
pandemic has at least some negative impacts
on their mental and emotional health. Women reporting exclusively negative mental andemotional health impacts of COVID-19 werealso much more likely to be food insecure,whether moderately or severely, and to saythat their income had decreased in the past
year (31, compared to 14% of those whose income had not decreased). Women who re-

34%
30%

35%
28%
23%
31%
25%
Felt unsafe walking around alone

ported experiencing safety issues, whether
it was at home or in public spaces, were also
more likely to say that the COVID-19 pandemic
had an exclusively negative impact on theirlives compared to women who had not experienced safety issues. This suggests, as previous
reports have found, that the negative impactsof COVID-19 are felt the strongest by thosealready experiencing hardship, including
survivors of VAW.

18

FIGURE 11

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, by feelings of safety

All women

25%

Among women
who felt unsafe
at home28%

Among women who
felt unsafe walking
around alone

30%

COVID-19 has
had only negative
impacts

COVID-19 has had
both negative andpositive impacts

The impacts of violence against women in public and private spaces was also observed whenanalysing women’s socialization patterns. Although the majority of women reported thatthey have continued to leave the house and socialize, women who felt unsafe in their homes
were more likely to report that COVID-19 had
limited their interaction with friends and social groups (56%), than women who felt safe

21%

9%

45%

32%

24%

13%

10%

COVID-19 has
had only positive
impacts

27%

36%

COVID-19 has
had no impact
at all(42%). Women who felt unsafe walking alone
during the day or at night (51%) were also more
likely than women who felt safe (39%) to report limited social interactions since COVID-19.
This pattern was also seen among women
who have experienced or know someone who
has experienced VAW (51%) compared to those
who did not (34%).

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Nigeria

19

6. RECOMMENDATIONS
The impacts of COVID-19 on VAW in Nigeria
are significant. Women in Nigeria encounterviolence in public and in private spaces, atthe hands of strangers and of those closest tothem. With around 57% of women likely experiencing food insecurity at the time of thestudy and 65% saying they had lost income,mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, external stressors that can increase the risk of VAW
are on the rise.
As a result of the intersectionality of VAW, policy and programmatic interventions require
tailoring to the factors driving different experiences of violence. Not only does the type of response that is best-suited to address VAW vary
based on the specific experiences of women,
but the resources they would seek out vary
as well. This study stresses the importance ofpartnering with existing infrastructure that
supports women in vulnerable situations toempower communities, particularly those inrural areas, with the full suite of resources they
may needed to support women. Considering
this, the research supports three recommendations:
1. Interventions that are meant to address
VAW should consider how policy interventions in other areas may alleviate some of theroot causes of VAW, including through fully
integrating VAW measures in post-COVID-19
recovery plans as an opportunity to build
back better.
In Nigeria, VAW is pervasive, as women consider partner abuse and feelings of unsafety inpublic and private spaces common and many
have reported these feelings being amplified
since the beginning of the pandemic. VAWtouches all women in Nigeria and, as such, allongoing programming and policies – particularly those focused on COVID-19 recovery andrelief – should be developed with an eye to thepotential impacts and outcomes they could

have on women’s experience of violence (andof safety). If initiatives intended to address
the economic and social impacts of COVID-19
are not connected to programming seeking
to end VAW, women experiencing multiple
forms of discrimination could be left evenfurther behind. It is therefore important togo beyond gender mainstreaming to develop
multidimensional programmes that are specifically targeted to improve women’s feelingsof safety and experiences of violence in their
day-to-day lives. This is particularly the casefor women in rural areas of Nigeria, where theeffects of COVID-19 have magnified the vulnerability and safety concerns of women who
were already significantly more likely to reportexperiencing or knowing a woman who has
experienced VAW.
2. Work to enhance the response and provision of essential services by authorities andcivil society structures, and to improve trust,in order to improve reporting and bolster
women’s confidence and feelings of safety.
It is important to recognize that while the majority of women in Nigeria did expect womenexperiencing violence – whether public or private – to seek help, the avenues through which
women were expected to do this tended
strongly toward informal sources. This likely
means that VAW is underreported to authorities and resources should be dedicated to improving formal support services so that more
women feel comfortable seeing help fromthese resources. However, it is equally important to invest and support both formal and informal structures that women do trust to help
them when they are in vulnerable situations.
Outside of the family, women facing domestic violence express a preference for women’sgroups, NGOs or CSOs. There is an opportunity
to invest further in these institutions and in
making them more accessible and increasing

20

awareness about them within communities,
as a means of creating more secure situations
for women experiencing violence.
Centralized resources may not be accessible
for all women experiencing violence from apartner or other household member, not only
because violence is often considered a private
matter but also because of a lack of accessibility and fear of repercussions, particularly for
women in rural areas. Along with improvements to formal reporting systems, interventions seeking to work with rural womenshould also include bolstering the informal
institutions and networks that women in Nigeria already use, particularly in more rural
areas of the country, by making them accessible in all ways – including linguistically, culturally and geographically. Careful placementof resources in more informal channels, forinstance through women’s organizations andreligious or community leaders, could further
increase the likelihood that women in Nigeria
experiencing VAW can and will get the help
they need.
3. Support further research that goes beyond
understanding VAW prevalence to examine
the underlying social norms and behaviouraldrivers, particularly around breaking taboos
and help-seeking behaviours.
The statistics surrounding VAW for women in
Nigeria are stark and reveal their unique vulnerabilities, both in their lifetime and particularly since the onset of COVID-19 that have impacted their sense of safety in their homes andin their communities. This research on VAWprovides critical insights into the pervasivenessof VAW for women in Nigeria; however, further research focused on the social norms andbehavioural drivers that underlie VAW fromthe perspectives of both women and men isrequired. This would provide insights into thesocial and cultural expectations of women in
their households and communities and drive a
deeper understanding of the “how” and “why”
behind VAW and the help-seeking behaviors

that survivors pursue (or forgo). Research thatbuilds a more nuanced understanding of thesocial and gender norms that underlie VAW in
Nigeria would help limit the negative externalities that women can face as the result ofwell-intended programmatic and policy interventions.
4. Support further research to understandthe complexities of VAW data collection for
women with disabilities and the responsiveness and sensitivity of current VAW services
to disability in Nigeria.
The intersection of gender and disability increases the risk of violence for women andgirls living with disabilities, as well as theircaregivers. Women and girls living with disabilities are almost twice as likely to experience VAW than women and girls without disabilities in Nigeria.7 Many women living withdisabilities in Nigeria live in communities disproportionally affected by the negative socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic, increasing tensions that provide opportunities for
perpetrators to engage in abusive behaviour.
Moreover, women and girls living with disabilities often struggle to access information on
where to seek help and other life-saving services and resources, a problem which has beenhighlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic by
the lack of accessible public service announcements in Nigeria.8 During the lockdown, accessto disability-friendly information was limited
and access to confidential COVID-19 and VAWservices was complicated. Statistics surrounding incidence of VAW among women with disability is sparse and requires further robust
research, which should also focus on access to
VAW services and an assessment of disabilityfriendly VAW data-collection methodologies.

7“Respect not abuse: Reducing violence against women in
Nigeria.”
8 UN Women, UNFPA, UNODC and UNICEF. 2020. “GenderBased Violence in Nigeria During the Covid-19 Crisis: THE
SHADOW PANDEMIC.” 4 May.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Nigeria

21

7. METHODOLOGY
The survey was fielded via Computer-Assisted
Telephone Interviewing using random-digit
dialing to mobile numbers between 17 Augustand 27 September 2021. The total number ofcompleted interviews was 1,482. During thesurvey period, daily new infection rates were
dropping sharply9 as several states had reintroduced work-from-home policies and bars,
nightclubs, event centres, and other entertainment venues remained closed. Indoor gatherings remained restricted to 50 people or less,with the requirement for face masks and social
distancing measures, and public gatherings

9

were allowed but restricted. Public transportation was also limited to 50% capacity.10
The sample was drawn via random-digit dialing among the population with mobile phone
numbers, so the sample population is limited
to women aged 18 or over with mobile phone
access. As the last Nigerian Census took placein 2006, the percentages for each age groupfrom this survey were calculated based on thelatest Nigerian population projections fromthe UN11 and UNFPA.12

Age group

Percentage of adult women based on Census data

Percentage of adult women from sample data

18–29

40%

40%

30–39

23%

23.5%

40–49

17%

16.4%

50–59

11%

10.6%

60+

10%

9.5%

Reuters COVID-19 Tracker. 2021. “Nigeria”

10 U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria. “COVID-19
Information.”
11 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
Population Division. 2019. World Population Prospects 2019.
12 United Nations Population Fund. 2020. Projected population statistics.

22

DEFINITIONSCommunity: A term referencing the geographic area in which the respondent lives.
Food insecurity: This study used the Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO)’s formulation
to measure food insecurity, with an eightstatement battery. These data can be used toestablish estimates of the proportion of thesample who were moderately or severely foodinsecure, which can also be disaggregated byother variables of interest through the useof the FAO Food Insecurity Experience Scale(FIES) module. Any references in the report toprevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity represent estimates of the prevalence andshould be interpreted as such.
Partnered: A term referring to women who
were married or living/cohabiting with a partner.
Violence against women: Any act of genderbased violence that results in, or was likely
to result in, physical, sexual or psychologicalharm or suffering to women, including threatsof such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivationof liberty, whether occurring in public or in
private life.
Felt unsafe walking alone: Refers to women
who indicated that they felt “not very safe” or“not safe at all” walking alone outside during
the day (at question C02) or during the night(at question C03).

Experienced or knew someone who had experienced VAW: Refers to women who indicatedthat they, or another woman they knew, had
experienced any form of VAW. “Since COVID-19” is added to indicate women who indicated that these incidents had only been occurring since the start of the pandemic.
Experienced frequent conflict: Refers to respondents who indicated that they experienced conflict or arguments in their homes atleast once a week during the last six months(at question C19).
Experienced infrequent conflict: Refers to
respondents who indicated that they experienced conflict or arguments in their homes“once or twice” or “never” during the last six
months (at question C19).
Violence, abuse or the harassment of womenare a problem the community: Refers to respondents who indicated that physical harm,abuse or the harassment of women are “alot”, “somewhat”, or “a little bit” of a problem
where they live (at question C07).
Violence, abuse or the harassment of womenare not a problem the community: Refers to respondents who indicated that physical harm,abuse or the harassment of women are “notat all” a problem where they live (at question
C07).

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Nigeria23© 2022 UN Women. All rights reserved.
The views expressed in this publication arethose of the author(s) and do not necessarily
represent the views of UN Women, the United
Nations or any of its affiliated organizations.
Produced by the Women Count programme
Editor: Jen Ross
Design: Ouissal Hmazzou

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