Prevalence, Forms, and Predictors of Gender-Based Violence among Undergraduate Female Social Studies Students in Federal Universities, Plateau State, Nigeria
Keywords:
Gender-based violence, Plateau State, Nigeria, Prevalence, Social Studies education, Undergraduate female students.Abstract
Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a pervasive but under-documented threat to the educational experience of female undergraduate students in Nigerian universities, yet little empirical evidence exists on its prevalence, dominant forms, and predictors among Social Studies education students specifically. This study assessed the prevalence rate, predominant forms, and socio-cultural, institutional, and individual predictors of GBV among undergraduate female Social Studies students in federal universities in Plateau State, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was adopted, anchored on Feminist Theory and Social Learning Theory. The population comprised 1,160 undergraduate female Social Studies students across the University of Jos and the Federal University of Education, Pankshin, from which a sample of 297 was drawn using a multi-stage sampling procedure (purposive, proportionate stratified, and simple random sampling), with the sample size determined via the Taro Yamane formula. Data were collected using a validated researcher-developed instrument, titled “Gender-Based Violence Prevalence, Forms, and Predictors Questionnaire” (GBVPFPQ), and analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation) and regression analysis to test three null hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. Results indicated a high overall prevalence of gender-based violence among respondents (grand mean = 2.73, SD = 1.02), with 63.3% reporting personal experience of GBV within the university environment. Psychological/emotional abuse was the most predominant form (M = 3.21), followed by sexual harassment (M = 3.04) and physical abuse (M = 2.61). Weak enforcement of institutional anti-GBV policies was the most significant predictor (M = 3.05), followed by patriarchal socio-cultural norms (M = 2.88). All three null hypotheses were rejected at the 0.05 level of significance (p < .05). The study concludes that GBV constitutes a measurable and identifiable risk factor within the university environment for this population, with implications for institutional policy, counselling provision, and gender-responsive campus safety planning. Recommendations are offered for university administrators, policymakers, counselling units, and advocacy stakeholders.
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