Focus Group Discussion in Qualitative Research Assignment

Assignment Task

Study design: This study employed a qualitative approach to data collection through eight Focus Group Discussions (FGDs).

Sampling strategy: Recruitment of participants for the study was purposive in nature, guided by the information provided by two SOS shelter for abused women directors. The participants for the study comprised 22 women aged 28 to 37 years who were living in two SOS shelter for abused women in Lagos. SOS shelter for abused women provides a home for helpless women who have been victims of different forms of violence: physical, psychological, sexual from their part1ners

Data collection method: A combination of administered questionnaire and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) was used for data collection exercise. The questionnaire consisted of a combination of close and open- ended questions. Focus group discussions produce descriptive data about people own written or spoken and observable behavior

Data analysis method: Descriptive analysis was used for the demographic characteristics of the participants and to present the types of domestic violence experienced by the participants. The transcription of the recorded audio cassettes, together with the recorded field notes, provided data for the thematic analysis. Transcripts were read and annotated. Multiple readings of the transcripts were undertaken to identify major themes or ideas revealed by the group members as well as critical words, phrases and examples. The experiences of the participants were compared and contrasted, searching for patterns either made explicitly by participants or derived implicitly. Important and frequently expressed ideas or themes were then studied for pattern of connection and grouped into broader categories. The main themes in the data formed a picture that reflected the experiences of all the women in the study

Results demography: Descriptive analysis was used for the demographic characteristics of the participants. The transcription of the recorded audio cassettes, together with the recorded field notes, provided data for the thematic analysis. Majority of the participants (50%) were 28 years old. Fourteen of them representing (63.64%) of the total participants were Muslims while 8 (36.36%) of them were Christians. Most of the participants (68.18%) were from polygamous homes. In terms of level of educational attainment of partners, only 3(10%) of the participants came from homes where their partners had tertiary education.

The discussions revealed that the principal causes of Intimate Partner Rape/Violence were unequal power relations. The self-reported consequences of intimate partner rape/ violence by the women according to this study shows that the commonest health-related effects were physical in nature: physical injury (31.81%) while Constant headache was reported by 27.27% of the participants. Psychological effects of domestic sexual violence as reported by the participants included: sleep disturbances 18.18%); excessive fear and anxiety (9.09%); suicidal ideation (9.09%) and hatred for men (4.55%).

Question

Findings suggest that the lockdowns in Nigeria may have inadvertently placed women already experiencing partner violence at risk for experiencing more severe violence, new challenges to cope with violent experiences, and other forms of violence, including violence that used the lockdown as a way to threaten women’s security and ability to protect themselves from COVID-19 exposure. Women reported that social isolation and lack of access to formal services inhibited their ability to get support as a result of IPV during the lockdown. Additionally, economic stressors associated with the COVID-19 lockdown were noted by women as aggravating or resulting in IPV. While more research will be needed, these case summaries provide some initial insight to women’s experiences of IPV unique to the COVID-19 lockdown.

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