Rural-urban variation in prevalence and factors associated with intimate partner violence among women of reproductive age in Nigeria

Abstract Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health problem affecting women of reproductive age globally. Prevalence remains high in low-income regions, including Nigeria, where rural women experience higher rates. IPV is linked to physical, emotional, and sexual harm with severe health consequences. Despite legal efforts, rural–urban disparities persist, requiring deeper investigation to its prevalence and associated factors. Methods The study used data from the 2024 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey, which included a weighted sample of 20,295 women of reproductive age randomly selected for the IPV module in the analysis. The dependent variable, intimate partner violence, was categorized into three different patterns, namely, physical, emotional, and sexual violence. Analysis was performed using STATA version 17. Binary logistic regression was applied to identify factors associated with the patterns of IPV. Results The result showed that 22.03% and 22.6% of women experience any form of IPV in urban and rural areas, respectively. Emotional IPV was the most prevalent of the partner violence experienced by women in urban (17.25%) and rural areas (18.2%), while sexual IPV showed the lowest prevalence of experience of partner violence, with 2.89% and 3.71% from urban and rural areas, respectively. Factors associated with physical IPV included marital status, parity, religion, ethnicity, region, husband’s education, family type, and spouse employment status. For emotional intimate partner violence, age, educational level, marital status, parity, religion, ethnicity, region, and family type were identified as factors. The study also revealed that marital status, employment status, religion, ethnicity, region, zone, and spouse employment status were factors associated with sexual IPV. Conclusion IPV remains substantial, particularly in rural settings. Identified individual and household factors emphasize the need for tailored, context-specific strategies to mitigate disparities and protect women’s health.