PERCEIVED EFFECT OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE ON FAMILY STABILITY AMONG INHABITANTS OF APA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BENUE STATE.

Abstract This study examined the perceived impact of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) on family stability among inhabitants of Apa Local Government Area of Benue State. The study considered variables such as family/household communication, household economic stability, social and behavioural changes among spouses, poor child upbringing and divorce rate among the inhabitants of Apa Local Government Area of Benue State. The study reviewed common forms of GBV prevalent in the study area such as physical, psychological/verbal, sexual and economic violence and further discussed the effect of GBV on family communication, household economic stability, social and behavioural changes among spouses (living together legally or illegally), child upbringing and divorce rate in line with previous studies and was hinged on the Structural Functionalism Theory by Herbert Spencer (1853) and Social Ecological Theory by Urie Bronfenbrenner (1970s). The descriptive survey research design was adopted as the research method. A total of Four Hundred (400) respondents comprised the sample size for the study and respondents were selected from five out of the eleven council wards in the area of study using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected using a self-administered 25-item questionnaire developed by the researcher and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v. 23). Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while Pearson moment Chi-square analysis was used to test the research hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that gender-based violence was perceived to significantly affect family/household communication (χ2cal = 11.428, χ2tab = 7.82; 3df at p