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" Police Officers’ Perceptions of Cultural Norms and Domestic Violence Incidents in Lagos State, Nigeria "
Ogunnubi, Bolanle
Nguyen, Trent
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Latin Dissertation
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| Language of Document
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English
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| Record Number
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1106608
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| Doc. No
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TLpq2406621278
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| Main Entry
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Nguyen, Trent
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Ogunnubi, Bolanle
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| Title & Author
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Police Officers’ Perceptions of Cultural Norms and Domestic Violence Incidents in Lagos State, Nigeria\ Ogunnubi, BolanleNguyen, Trent
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| College
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Capella University
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| Date
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2020
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| student score
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2020
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Page No
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129
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| Abstract
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This study explores the cultural norms and perceptions of police officers regarding domestic violence incidents in Lagos State, Nigeria. A review of the literature reveals that at least two-thirds of Nigerian women experience some form of domestic violence during their lifetime. Studies have reported domestic violence as one of the country’s major marital problems. Some of the factors influencing the high prevalence of domestic violence in Nigeria include patriarchal cultural practices, religious beliefs, gender role expectations, and cultural norms. Despite this high prevalence of domestic violence, women have reluctantly reported incidents of domestic abuse to law enforcement, stating that police officers trivialize domestic abuse incidents and maintain a laissez-faire approach. However, previous studies have not indicated whether cultural norms guide police officers’ responses to women reporting domestic violence, and few qualitative studies have been carried out with police officers. This study fills that gap in the literature. The focus of this research study is on answering the following research question: How do police officers describe how their perceptions of cultural norms guide their interactions with females who report domestic violence? The research was guided by a generic qualitative design. Using purposeful sampling, 10 active police officers from two stations, who had handled domestic violence incidents reported by women, were selected to answer 10 open-ended questions in semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Four core themes and 11 subthemes emerged from the inductive thematic analysis. These themes and subthemes were categorized as follows: sufficient knowledge of domestic violence, cultural norms, beliefs and values impacting response to domestic violence, placement of the dictates of the law before cultural norms, and the challenges of rendering services. The response analysis demonstrates that cultural norms play a key role in the way in which police officers respond to domestic violence incidents. The findings align with the concept of social cognitive theory (SCT) that patterns of behavior are maintained by people from generation to generation. The results of this study are significant for the counseling field and may help to guide future interventions and programs, particularly in advocacy planning and in assisting policymakers to make informed decisions. This study also advances scientific knowledge by providing information that would aid in improving police procedures when responding to women reporting domestic violence. Further research with a larger group, using a quantitative or mixed methodology, could confirm the findings of this study and provide more generalizable insights into how police officers respond to domestic violence incidents.
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Law enforcement
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Social psychology
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Womens studies
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