Are very poor women more vulnerable to violence against women? Comparison of experiences of female beggars with homemakers in an urban slum settlement in Ibadan, Nigeria.

This study compared the prevalence and nature of violence against women (VAW) experienced by 104 female beggars with those of 219 homemakers in Sabo, an urban migrant slum settlement in Ibadan, Nigeria. The lifetime experience of VAW was 66.3% (95%CI: 62.5-70.1) among the beggars and 54.8% (95%CI: 52.2-57.6) among the homemakers (p=.05), while six months preceding the survey was: 56.7% (95%CI: 55.2-58.2) and 21.9% (95%CI: 20.8.2-23.0) respectively p=.0001). Psychological violence was experienced by 34.7% and 20.8% (p=.05); physical violence by 31.9% and 16.7% (p=.02) and sexual by 20.3% and 0.8% (p=.0001) of the beggars and homemakers respectively. Beggars with higher knowledge levels (aOR 0.23; 95%CI 0.07-0.80) and with more egalitarian attitudes (aOR 0.38; 95%CI 0.12-0.91) were less likely to experience violence. Suggestions to end VAW included female education (27.8%) and economic empowerment (59.2%). There is need to protect beggars by increasing access to health information, schooling, vocational training and income generating activities.