Gendered betrayals in patriarchal Nigerian society: women's involvement in the orchestration of sexual assault against other women

Abstract

The prevailing narrative about sexual violence in academic and policy discussions depicts sexual assault mainly as a male-on-female crime. Women's complicity in gender-based violence (GBV) is rarely studied. To address this, this qualitative study explores women's involvement in orchestrating sexual assault against other women within Nigeria's sociocultural and patriarchal context. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 23 participants, comprising 13 survivors and 10 women who facilitated sexual violence, and a thematic analysis of the narratives was conducted. Findings demonstrated that complex sociocultural and patriarchal dynamics often shape women's roles and complicity in GBV against fellow women. Survivors' accounts and offenders' narratives highlight that such complicity is not merely a matter of individual deviance but is deeply embedded within broader structures of gendered power, coercion, and survival strategies. These insights underscore the need for stronger policies that deter complicity, empower women, and address the sociocultural foundations of sexual violence.PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENT For practitioners, the study emphasises the need for survivor-centered support that accounts for the added psychological burden of betrayal by other women. Policymakers and advocacy groups can use these insights to strengthen community education, challenge cultural practices that normalise complicity, and expand gender-based violence interventions to address overlooked dynamics of female facilitation.