Coping with Marital Violence: Whither Women in Ile-Ife?

Abstract

Coping with of marital violence could involve but not limited to sharing their experience with their friends rather than their family members or relatives. However, previous researches conducted viewed this from a quantitative perspective but this research aims at using a qualitative approach. This research aimed at narrating the copingstrategies of women survivors of marital violence in their own voice. To locate appropriate participants, a purposive sampling method which is a non- probability method was employed in choosing 2 communities in Ife municipality. The sample size comprised of 12 participants within the age of 15-49 years.In-depth interview and case study was adopted as research instruments for primary data collection because it is exploratory, descriptive, detailed and complete. Findings revealed that in order for the women to stay alive or survive marital violence also known as intimate partner violence, they had to share their ordeal with friends and colleagues, religious leaders, keeping to themselves, avoiding the perpetuator, drinking alcohol, indiscriminate use of drugs and smoking.In conclusion, this study observed that different people experience similar things differently and that credits women's abilityto create novel strategies for coping with marital violence and acknowledges their efforts at seeking for help and support from formal and informal sources.