Targeting Exploitation at its Roots: the Impact of Female Marginalization in Nigerian Households on Domestic Violence and Other Predictors of Human Trafficking

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of female marginalization within a household in Nigeria on the probability of domestic violence, an important predictor of a child's risk of falling victim to human trafficking. Specifically, data is used from the 2003 Nigerian DHS survey and determined that marginalization of females' roles and decision-making in a household has a statistically significant and robust effect on female attitudes towards domestic violence within a household. Data collected from Nigerian trafficking victims to identify domestic violence as a common experience is also used as a theoretical framework to the models. Key factors included in the model can be broken down into categories of socioeconomics, attitudes towards domestic violence, and household structure. The paper integrates and builds upon previous works on the relationship between family dynamics, domestic violence, and vulnerability to exploitation in Nigeria in order to formulate effective policies to eliminate human trafficking.