Factors Predisposing Women to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Kenya

Abstract

This study was guided by the feminist theory by Dobash & Dobash (1979) and Walker (1979). The study sought to establish predisposing factors of IPV. The study sample was 230 women survivors from selected shelter homes in Nairobi and Nakuru in Kenya. Interview schedules were utilized in data collection. The data was analyzed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. The findings showed that IPV is a complex phenomena emanating from factors such as low education status, low income, strained relationships, alcohol and drug abuse. The solution to this enigma lies in addressing the underlying cultural beliefs about gender inequality that feed the forces of social relations between male and female partners’.