Gender-based violence against women and girls in Katsina State, Nigeria: Survivors’ experiences, associated conditions, and protection responses

Gender-based violence (GBV) in Katsina State, Nigeria, must be understood alongside family power relations, livelihood needs, displacement caused by insecurity, and protection responses. This study examines conditions associated with survivors’ experiences, forms, and social consequences of violence, and responses described by GBV Center officials and experienced by survivors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 survivors and two officials. Transcripts were analyzed thematically and interpreted through Heise’s ecological framework. Credibility was supported through comparison of interview sources, member checking, peer debriefing, reflexive notes, and an audit trail. Three findings emerged. First, survivors’ experiences were associated with family power relations, difficulty meeting basic needs, and displacement. Second, survivors described forced marriage, sexual violence at school, physical violence and coercion by fathers, and husbands’ neglect of family needs. Several linked sexual relationships were undertaken to obtain money for daily needs. In one case, a mother and her five children lost food and shelter; another survivor described expulsion from her village. Third, officials described referrals, mental health and psychosocial support, transitional shelter, and case management. One survivor reported receiving basic assistance and being enrolled in skills training; another account described reduced stigma from some residents. The study concludes that experiences are associated with family power relations, livelihood conditions, and displacement, but does not establish the prevalence of GBV across Katsina. Its contribution lies in distinguishing resource constraints from a family member’s failure to meet a survivor’s needs in one case, and in distinguishing officials’ service descriptions from survivors’ assistance, thereby informing survivor-inclusive monitoring.