Associations between sexual identity, living with disability, bully victimisation, and HIV status and intimate partner violence among residents in Nigeria

Background The aim of the study was to determine the associations between sexual identity, disability and HIV status and bullying victimisation, and a history of physical, emotional and sexual violence in Nigeria. Methods This was a secondary analysis of a primary dataset generated through an online survey conducted between February 7 and 19, 2021. The 3197 participants for the primary study were recruited through snowballing. The dependent variables were physical, emotional and sexual violence. The independent variables were sexual identity (heterosexual and sexual minority), HIV status (negative, positive and unknown), bullying victimisation (yes/no) and living with disability (yes/no). A multivariate logistic regression model was developed for each form of IPV. Each model was adjusted for age, sex assigned at birth, marital status and education level. Results Respondents living with HIV had higher odds for physical (AOR: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.46-2.76; p < 0.001), sexual (AOR: 2.17; 95%CI: 1.55-3.05; p < 0.001), and emotional (AOR: 1.59; 95%CI: 1.24-2.06; p < 0.001) violence. Also, those with history of bullying victimisation had higher odds for physical (AOR: 3.79; 95%CI: 2.86 - 5.68; p < 0.001), sexual (AOR: 3.05; 95%CI: 2.27 - 4.10; p < 0.001) and emotional (AOR: 2.66; 95%CI: 2.10 - 3.37; p < 0.001) violence. In addition, females had higher odds of physical (AOR: 1.52; 95%CI: 1.13-2.043; p < 0.001) and sexual (AOR: 1.83; 95%CI: 1.34 - 2.50; p < 0.001) violence; and respondents cohabiting (AOR: 1.95; 95%CI: 1.12 - 3.28; p = 0.012) had higher odds for emotional violence. Respondents who were married have significantly lower odds of experiencing physical (AOR: 0.66; 95%CI: 0.45 - 9.60; p = 0.029), sexual (AOR: 0.40; 95%CI: 0.26 - 0.62; p < 0.001) and emotional (AOR: 0.68; 95%CI: 0.50 - 0.93; p = 0.015) violence when compared to singles. Younger respondents also had lower odds of experiencing sexual violence (AOR: 0.97; 95%CI: 0.95-0.99; p = 0.016). Conclusion HIV positive status and bullying victimisation seem to increase the risk for all forms of IPV while the experience of IPV did not differ by sexual identity and disability status. The associations between age, sex, marital status and IPV may suggest moderating roles of the factors taking cognisance of the cultural context of these relationships. Future relational analysis is necessary to further understand the pathways for the associations found between the variables in this study.

Automated summary

The study in Nigeria found that HIV positive status and bullying victimization may increase the risk of experiencing all forms of intimate partner violence (IPV), while sexual identity and disability did not impact the experience of violence. The associations between age, sex, marital status, and IPV suggest potential moderating roles of these factors within the cultural context. Further relational analysis is needed to fully understand the pathways linking these variables.