Male support for family planning and contraceptive use by their partners during the COVID-19 pandemic in selected states in Nigeria: a qualitative explorative study Tanimola M. Akande, Adesola Oluwafunmilola Olumide, Abiodun S. Adeniran, Oloruntomiwa Oyetunde, Taiwo Gboluwaga Amole, et al. Reproductive Health, 2025 Background The COVID-19 pandemic affected all facets of life, including access to health and other social services. The World Health Organization conducted a multi-country mixed methods study in India, Nigeria and Tanzania to assess the impact of the pandemic on family planning (FP) access, and the health system's capacity to provide FP and contraceptive services. In this paper, we share results of the qualitative aspect of the study that explored men’s support for FP and contraceptive use by their partners during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Methods A qualitative exploratory study was conducted in rural and urban communities in Kano, Kwara, and Oyo states of Nigeria among women of reproductive age and their male partners. One hundred and forty-seven women and 95 male partners were purposively selected, and they participated in 68 in-depth interviews and 21 focus group discussions. The interviews and discussions were digitally recorded and subsequently transcribed. Data were organized using ATLAS.ti and analysed using content analysis. Results The mean age of the respondents was 34.4 ± 10.9 years, 90% were married, and 74% had at least secondary education. In Kano, decisions regarding FP and contraceptive use were majorly made by men alone, whereas in Kwara and Oyo states, decisions were often made jointly by the couple. The other forms of male support reported were largely comparable in the three study states. For example, communicating with their female partners about FP, providing practical support such as financial assistance and transportation, accompanying their partners to health facilities or drug stores to procure contraception, offering physical support during the procedure and emotional support. Use of contraceptive methods by men, which is a direct form of support was not frequently reported. Conclusions Males played notable roles in supporting their partners to obtain FP and contraception during the pandemic. We recommend implementing interventions that encourage greater male involvement in FP, as well as interventions that promote joint decision-making between couples in settings where decisions are mostly taken by men alone.
Police Crackdowns, Human Rights Abuses, and Sex Work Industry in Nigeria: Evidence From an Empirical Investigation Habeeb Abdulrauf Salihu, Olufemi Adeniyi Fawole International Criminal Justice Review, 2021 This study undertook a qualitative investigation into police crackdowns as a form of operational control mechanism employed to suppress sex workers and sex work industry in Ilorin Emirate, Kwara State, Nigeria. The study employed a qualitative research method. One hundred and six female commercial sex workers (41 at street hot spots and 65 in brothels) participated. They were aged between 19 and 47 and selected through a variety of sampling methods including purposive, referral, and venue-based sampling methods. In-depth interview was the instrument used in data collection, and thematic data analysis was employed in analyzing the data. Results indicate that police crackdown is usually experienced by sex workers at street hot spots and in brothels and are often associated with brutality, human rights abuses, and extortion, which have negative impacts on the livelihoods and general well-being of sex workers. Sex workers devised some strategies to escape and avoid police arrests and abuses. Thus, crackdowns merely displace sex workers during intense restrictions but do not reduce sex work activities. Therefore, the study suggests a change in suppressive approach to an inclusive nonviolent method in reducing commercial sex work activities.
"…And here we are…": Influencing factors of intimate partner preference among married couples in Nigeria Olufemi Adeniyi Fawole, Olasunkanmi Adebiyi Osho Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research, 2017 Every society has unique factors that contribute to the selection of marriage partner among young adults. These factors have been found to equally determine marital satisfaction and marital stability. This study focuses on married couples in Nigeria and factors that determined how they transcended from their dating period to marriage. A total of 19 married couples participated in this study, which involved the use of focus group discussions to elicit data from them. Snowball sampling technique was used to obtain respondents who had similar characteristics. The respondents were aged between 38 and 50 years, had courted for at least 7 years before marriage, and marriage was not less than 10 years. Data was analyzed using content analysis. Themes bordered on factors determining choice of partner, how they met, length of their dating, and courtship periods. Physical attractiveness, as a determining factor, was clearly evident among participants. Participants agreed that communication was vital to marriage stability. The study brought to light that in spite of strong traditional values, Nigerians displayed romantic characteristics similar to Western societies such as the United States and the United Kingdom. The study was limited because of the method adopted for selecting participants. Also, some variables such as ethnic background and educational background were not included in the study. The study recommends future studies which may be longitudinal, involving couples’ personality traits, families of origin, and so on, in order to yield more salient issues.
Influence of social media on dating relationships of emerging adults in Nigerian universities: Social media and dating in Nigeria Olufemi Adeniyi Fawole, Olasunkanmi Adebiyi Osho Identity Sexuality and Relationships Among Emerging Adults in the Digital Age, 2016 Social media play important roles in creating a person's sense of reality, recreating face-to-face interactions on the web by allowing people to interact either publicly of privately. Social networking sites helps in maintaining relationship with individuals who may not be closer to one; used to express romantic relationships through profile pictures or posts on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Uber Social etc. This chapter focused on the influence of Facebook on communication between emerging adults in dating relationships. A total of seventy-seven participants comprising students from the University of Lagos, Nigeria aged between 19 and 29 years, took part in different focus group discussions. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The results revealed that majority of the dating couples spent long hours on Facebook daily and they did not feel comfortable with the hours spent on Facebook by their partner chatting with friends on a regular basis.
Influence of work obligations on family commitment among couples in the private sector in Kwara state Olufemi Adeniyi Fawole, Oluwakemi Ogunbowale Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research, 2016 Purpose Family and work life have always been interdependent, because the increased employment of mothers, rising family hours of work, today’s service-intensive globalizing economy, and the trend toward work long hours for some and inadequate family income for the others have rendered this interdependence both more visible and more problematic. The extent to which an individual carries out their duties and responsibilities at work and home varies from one person to the other and how they balance up their roles and duties can be determined by a number of factors which include job-related factors, family-related factors, and individual factors. Methodology/approach A total of 255 married participants were randomly selected from the private sector, which includes banks, insurance companies, and telecommunication firms, in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. Data was elicited through the use of questionnaires as well as interview. Findings Findings from the chi-squared analysis used for this study showed that there is a significant relationship between work obligation and family commitment among couples in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. Originality/value One limitation of this study was that it was concentrated only on workers in the private sector. It was also limited by the methods of carrying out the research. The study emphasizes proper planning and time management, effective work schedule as well as an analysis of factors affecting work performance particularly, family duties, and how these affect the level of performance of individuals in their respective places of work.
Parental influence and dating violence among students at Nigerian Universities Olufemi Adeniyi Fawole, Ebenezer Bayode Agboola Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research, 2015 Purpose Dating violence has, in recent times, been a social problem that has been creating different levels of concern especially among parents, and those in the academia, in Nigeria. Studies have shown causes to be largely due to personality types, but little relate it with violence between the parents of the perpetrator. This study examines the influence of violence between parents and the effect on dating violence among students in Nigerian Universities. Design/Methodology/Approach Questionnaires were administered to 460 students who had experienced violence in their dating relationship. The study had 55.7% of the respondents being females. Findings All of the respondents had experienced dating violence at one point or the other in their relationship. About 36.7% of the respondents reported to having been in dating relationship with a partner who had witnessed violence in the home. Data analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient indicate that the variables of parental conflict and dating violence were significantly positively correlated among the students. Originality/Value The study was limited because it focuses on only one university, and research in the area of dating violence in Nigeria has not been extensively reported. The study therefore emphasizes the impact of socialization process on dating behavior of young adults in Nigeria as well as the need to have further studies on these dating patterns. This study will serve as addition to the gradually increasing literature on dating behavior of young adults in the Nigerian society.
