Domestic Violence and Family Stability among Married Couples in Nigeria

The integrity of the family unit as the foundational institution of Nigerian society is under serious and documented threat from the persistent prevalence of domestic violence within the institution of marriage. This paper examined domestic violence and family stability among married couples in Nigeria, with three specific objectives: to assess the nature and forms of domestic violence experienced by married couples in Nigeria; to examine the effects of domestic violence on family stability among married couples in Nigeria; and to identify strategies for addressing domestic violence and promoting family stability among married couples in Nigeria. The paper adopted feminist theory and social learning theory as its theoretical frameworks. A systematic literature review methodology guided by the PRISMA framework was employed, drawing on 54 peer-reviewed studies sourced from Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Findings reveal that domestic violence among Nigerian married couples manifests in physical, psychological, sexual, economic, and spiritual forms, sustained by patriarchal cultural norms and institutional failures. The effects on family stability are severe, encompassing marital dissolution, psychological trauma, compromised child development, and household economic disintegration. The paper concluded that domestic violence in Nigeria is a structurally embedded public crisis demanding an integrated, multi-level response. It was recommended that mandatory counselling programmes be institutionalised for couples, that the VAPP Act 2015 be universally domesticated and vigorously enforced, and that women's economic empowerment be integrated into the domestic violence response framework at community level.