MUESTREO DE ACEPTACION POR VARIABLES, CON DESVIACION ESTANDAR CONOSIDA Y DESCONOSIDA.

The ethical clearance to conduct the research was given by Maynooth University’s Research Ethics Committee.62 Arrangements were made with professional counsellors to assist the participants should they need assistance because of taking part in the interview. In addition, details of support services in each of the participant’s locality was included in the information pack given to them. The participants were not remunerated and were furnished with necessary information according to the ethics committee’s guidelines to enable them to give informed consent, including their right to withdraw from participating before, during or after the interview.63 _{In addition, the participants were assured of the anonymity of their}

responses and identity for the purposes of this research and its publication.

62 _{See Appendix A.}

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3.1.7 Data Collection

The data used in this study was collected through a semi-structured in-depth face- to-face interview technique. Before embarking on the main research interview, I conducted a pilot interview using fellow postgraduate colleagues as participants. The pilot interview presented an excellent opportunity to pre-test the interview questionnaires, get acquainted with the semi-structured interview method, identify potential issues that may arise during the actual interview, and ensured that the recording equipment was functioning properly as well as become familiar with how to use it. The pilot interview was valuable and helped to boost my confidence in conducting the actual interview. According to Teijlingen and Hundley, ‘Pilot studies are a crucial element of a good study design. Conducting a pilot study does not guarantee success in the main study, but it does increase the likelihood of success’.64

I was solely responsible for collecting the data for this research. A total of ten interviews were conducted at various locations across Ireland that were convenient for the participants. Only the participants and I were present during the interview. It allowed the participants to freely express themselves regarding their views on perceptions and attitudes toward domestic violence while they lived in Nigeria, and whether it had changed since taking up residence in Ireland. The participants voiced their opinions concerning the absence of a law against domestic violence throughout Nigeria. They also expressed their feelings and experiences of the domestic violence laws in Ireland and its impact on their knowledge and attitude toward domestic violence. They answered the questions calmly, and some were brief or hesitant in the discussion of issues surrounding, either their direct or indirect experience of domestic violence. The interviews lasted between 45 to 60 minutes and were recorded on a Dictaphone and played back to the interviewee for his/her affirmation. I communicated with the participants through telephone calls prior to the date we met for the interview. The use of semi-structured interview for

64 _{Teijlingen Van and V Hundley, ‘The importance of pilot studies’ (2002) 16 (40) Nursing Standard 33}

<http://journals.rcni.com/doi/pdfplus/10.7748/ns2002.06.16.40.33.c3214> accessed 25 July 2017.

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data collection proved to be the most suitable method, as it allowed the participants the opportunity to express themselves freely. When compared to other data collection methods like a case study or focus group, they would have presented insurmountable challenges regarding cost, logistics - difficulty in assembling the participants and the likely unwillingness of the participants to freely express themselves amid other participants, especially given the sensitive nature of the topic (domestic violence).

As Gillham posits, ‘face-to-face interview is preferable and appropriate where depth of meaning is important, and the research is primarily focused on gaining insight and understanding’.65 Nigel asserts that ‘semi-structured interview is consistent with participatory and emancipatory models’ and listed the following as some of the reasons for its choice as a data collection method in qualitative research:

• It provides the opportunity to generate rich data.

• Language use by the participants was considered essential in gaining insight into their perceptions and values.

• Contextual and relational aspects were seen as significant to understanding others’ perceptions.

• Data generated can be analysed in different ways.66

65 _{B Gillham, The Research Interview (London 2000) 9.}

66 _{Newton Nigel, ‘the use of semi-structured interviews in qualitative research: strength and}

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Section Two

3.2 Data Analysis

The data analysis employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) method. IPA is one of the brand names of descriptive – interpretive qualitative research analysis methods.67 As Elliott and Timulak assert, ‘descriptive– interpretive qualitative research methods go by many ‘brand names’ in which various common elements are mixed and matched according to … researchers’ predilections’.68 _{Some of the current brand names in use are grounded theory,}

empirical phenomenology, hermeneutic-interpretive research, interpretative phenomenological analysis, and consensual qualitative research.69 _{All these}

methods rely on linguistic rather than numerical data and employ meaning-based rather than statistical forms of data analysis.70

The inductive qualitative research analysis approach was adopted over the deductive approach, as it ‘…involves analysing data with little or no predetermined theory, structure or framework and uses the actual data itself to derive the structure of analysis’.71 _{The inductive approach is comprehensive and time-consuming but}

allowed for the emergence of new phenomena as the interview progressed.72

According to Smith et al., ‘IPA is a qualitative research approach committed to how people make sense of their major life experiences. IPA is phenomenological in that it is concerned with exploring experience in its own terms’.73 They described IPA as:

…an interpretative endeavour and is therefore informed by hermeneutics, the theory of interpretation. IPA shares the view that human beings are sense-making creatures, and therefore the accounts which participants

67 _{Patton (n 10).}

68 _{Robert Elliott and Ladislav Timulak, ‘Descriptive and interpretive approaches to qualitative research’}

in Jeremy Miles and Paul Gilbert, A Handbook of Research Methods for Clinical and Health

Psychology (Oxford University Press 2005) 147 – 160.

69 _ibid. 70 _ibid.

71 _{P Burnard et al., ‘Analysing and presenting qualitative data’ (2008) 204 British Dental Journal 429.} 72 _ibid.

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provide will reflect their attempt to make sense of their experience. IPA also recognises that access to experience is always dependent on what participants tell us about that experience, and that the researcher then needs to interpret that account from the participant in order to understand their experience.74

The use of IPA as an analytical tool enabled the interpretation of the research data, which helped to determine the participants’ experiences of living in two jurisdictions, Nigeria and Ireland. As mentioned in chapters one and four, only five out of thirty-six States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja have a specific law prohibiting domestic violence in Nigeria; consequently, there is no specific law prohibiting it throughout the country. Conversely, Ireland has laws that prohibit domestic violence throughout the country. In addition, the use of IPA as an analytical tool assisted in ascertaining how their experience living in these two jurisdictions has affected their perceptions and attitudes toward domestic violence and the protection of their human rights. I consider IPA to be the most suitable method of analysis to use in this study when compared to other methods because it allowed for a broader interpretation of data using themes and categories.

According to Smith et al., there is no hard and fast rule in the sequence of qualitative data analysis.75 _{The data analysis was done in four stages. Stage one}

commenced with selective transcribing of the recorded interview as expressed by the participants. The recordings were selectively transcribed because, according to Smith et al., ‘It is pointless to transcribe information which will not be analysed’.76

This stage involved lots of reading and re-reading of the transcript and listening to the audio recording. It was a time-consuming process but helped to make the participants ‘the central focus of the analysis’,77 _{as well as ensure the transcripts}

reflected the participants’ lived experiences and feelings. Stage two involved line by line assessment of the data, identifying themes and generating codes. The familiarity of the data because of reading and re-reading in first stage helped to

74 _ibid.

75 _ibid. 76 _ibid. 77 _ibid.

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identify important moments during the interview, where participants made notable comments, used quotations, laughed, paused, repeated words, and used metaphor to illustrate their opinions, feelings, and/or ideas. The manual open coding of the data happened at this stage after identifying these important moments and extracting themes and categories. The aim of open coding, according to Burnard

et al., ‘…is to offer a summary statement or word for each element that is discussed

in the transcript’.78 _{According to Anaedozie, ‘Open coding helps the researcher in}

breaking apart and separates the data analytically, leading to thematic conceptualisation’.79 _{Also, Stage three involved the creation of conceptual}

comments and a move into a more interpretative stage of analysis. The data was de-contextualised at this stage to ‘bring into detailed focus the participants’ words and meanings’.80 _{This resulted in the emergence of sub-themes and searching for}

connections and discrepancies in the emergent themes and categories to prepare for the findings and discussion of the study. The fourth and final stage was divided into two parts. Part one was the presentation of the research findings without reference to existing literature. Part two involved the discussion of the findings, which resulted in the work being placed in a wider context. At this stage, I engaged in a discussion of the findings with reference to existing literature. The research findings are presented in the next section, while the result and discussion of the research findings are presented in chapter eight.

3.2.1 Presentation of findings

The findings of the research derived from the analysis of the interview data transcripts will be presented in ten recurring themes and categories. These themes and categories emerged from the open coding of the data transcripts, which was part of the data analysis phase, as explained above. It allowed the building of collective recurring themes, as expressed by the interviewees, which represented their views based on their knowledge, experiences, and impact of domestic

78 _{Burnard et al. (n 71).}

79 _{Anaedozie Florence, ‘A Critical Analysis of Grand Corruption with Reference to International Human}

Rights and International Criminal Law: The case of Nigeria’ (PhD Thesis, Dublin Institute of Technology 2017) 262.

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violence in Nigeria and Ireland. The themes and categories present the in-depth feelings of the participants as they expressed at the time of the interview and member check process. The member check process, as earlier explained, involved presenting the results of the data transcript to the participants. They gave useful feedback and confirmed the accuracy and completeness of the findings, which reinforces validity and credibility. The themes and categories are:

Theme 1. Knowledge and awareness of domestic violence.

Theme 2. Cultural acceptability of domestic violence and regarding it as a private family matter.

Theme 3. Perceptions and attitudes toward domestic violence.

Theme 4. Consideration of domestic violence as an abuse of the victim’s human rights.

Theme 5. Reasons for change of perceptions and attitudes.

Theme 6. Protection of the citizen’s human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Theme 7. Reporting of domestic violence to the authorities and speaking out about it.

Theme 8. Views on having laws against domestic violence in all the states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Theme 9. Occurrence of domestic violence within the immigrant

communities in Ireland.

Theme 10. Views on organising domestic violence seminars and conferences, especially for the immigrant communities.

Theme 1: Knowledge and awareness of domestic violence

All the interviewees acknowledged they had limited knowledge of domestic violence throughout the period they lived in Nigeria before relocating to Ireland. The question “Can you describe your knowledge of domestic violence in terms of acts that constitute it and its consequences during the period you lived in Nigeria and Ireland” elicited a convergence of responses. These responses portrayed either the participants’ complete lack of knowledge of what constitutes domestic violence

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or limited knowledge of only certain forms of it. For instance, participant C said, ‘In fairness, when I lived in Nigeria, I did not have a good knowledge of domestic violence’. Similarly, participant H began his response to the question as follows: ‘Back in Nigeria, I did not know anything about domestic violence’. Furthermore, their responses indicate that some of them witnessed incidences of domestic violence either in their family, neighbourhood or community, but were unaware of its consequences, as it was regarded as a normal thing that happens in a relationship. This was echoed by participant C who said, ‘Basically, in Nigeria, domestic violence is quite rampant, but people see the act from a different point of view, it is not usually considered as an abuse’. Also, participant H contended that domestic violence ‘…was not regarded as an issue to be concerned about’. Participant C said living in Ireland has made him realise that some of the treatments meted to them as children by their parents were acts of domestic violence and that he witnessed his father beat his mother on several occasions without any consequence.

In comparing their knowledge and awareness of domestic violence since they started living in Ireland, all the participants said living in Ireland had broadened their knowledge and awareness of it. Participant F said, ‘My experience in Ireland [of domestic violence] is an “eye opener” as it exposed me to the consequences of domestic violence’. Likewise, most of the participants believed their knowledge of domestic violence had broadened since coming to Ireland and seeing the way the issue is being treated here compared to the process in Nigeria.

In response to what factors may have contributed to their greater knowledge and awareness of domestic violence since taking up residence in Ireland, law and its effective enforcement coupled with awareness campaign were recurrently mentioned by the participants. They believed laws against domestic violence in Ireland and the campaign by government institutions and NGOs played a significant role in enlightening them about it.

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Theme 2: Cultural acceptability of domestic violence and regarding it as a private family matter

Most of the interviewees regarded domestic violence as a private family matter and culturally acceptable during the period they lived in Nigeria. Their attitude towards it then mirrored that of the rest of the society as expressed by participant E that it was regarded as ‘a private family affair and no body’s business’. Likewise, participant B contended that it was viewed as a ‘private family affair and families decide how to deal with it’. This was equally the opinion of participant C, as he stated ‘Where I come from, incidences of domestic violence are culturally acceptable because there are no consequences for indulging in the act. Sometimes the families decide to handle it in their own way’. Furthermore, participant D believed that ‘It was on rare occasions that cases of domestic violence are made public in terms of reporting to the police or inviting non-family members to settle the matter’. Conversely, participant F had a different reason for not considering it a private matter while living in Nigeria: ‘I did not consider it as a private matter when I was living in Nigeria because you need to let people know what she has done to warrant what happened to her. People should know that she was being disobedient or stubborn’. His view for not regarding it as a private matter was to justify the abuse meted to the victim, mostly women. Participant J believed that it might be the case that it was not culturally acceptable in Nigeria, but ‘for the fact that no one speaks out against it made it seem that it was culturally accepted’. All the participants attested to a change of view on how they regarded domestic violence since taking up residence in Ireland. For instance, participant H said, ‘My view has changed since I started living in Ireland’. He further explained that he had come to realise that it was wrong to engage in any act of domestic violence against any person, man or woman. In addition, participant J believed ‘domestic violence should not be treated as a private matter because it is a gradual killer’.

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Theme 3: Perceptions and attitudes toward domestic violence

Nine of the interviewees were unequivocal in affirming they did not consider domestic violence as a crime during the period they lived in Nigeria. They advanced diverse reasons for not perceiving it as a crime. Participant H was quick to respond to the question ‘Explain whether you considered domestic violence as crime and abuse of the victim’s human rights when you were living in Nigeria?’ to which he echoed, ‘No! No! No! I did not consider it as a crime. There are no human rights in Nigeria, and because there are no human rights in Nigeria, many people did not consider it as a crime’. Also, participant B in affirming he did not consider domestic violence as a crime while living in Nigeria opined that ‘the society did not consider it as a crime as well. This was because there are issues that the people believe are more serious than domestic violence. Hence, domestic violence was not regarded as a serious matter that needs attention’. According to participant F, ‘Culturally, your words should be a law to your spouse. From the cultural point of view, I did not consider it [Domestic violence] as a crime’. Rather, it was considered as a ‘deterrent for future misbehaviour’. Similarly, the reason participant I gave for not considering domestic violence as a crime also hinges on cultural beliefs. He stated, ‘back then in Nigeria, the prevailing perception was that your wife is your property and you have the right to discipline her the way you like without anyone’s interference. Hence, I did not regard it as a crime when I was living in Nigeria’. One of the two female participants, G, was among the nine that did not consider domestic violence a crime when she was residing in Nigeria. According to her, she maintained that view for some time while living in Ireland believing that women who call the police for their husband for whatever reason, including being subjected to acts of domestic violence, had ulterior motives for doing so. She believed they might want to leave a carefree life devoid of control. However, her view has changed, like the other participants.

The only respondent, a man, that regarded domestic violence as a crime during the period he lived in Nigeria responded to the question, stating: ‘Yes, but not with the knowledge I have acquired about domestic violence since I started living in Ireland’. He said living in Ireland had a profound effect in increasing his

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knowledge about domestic violence as well as transformed his perception and attitude towards it. One of the female respondents, participant A, said she was aware domestic violence was wrong when she was living in Nigeria. However, according to her, she was powerless to take proactive action against it, stating: ‘I could not fight the system’. All the participants (100%) affirmed that their perceptions and attitudes toward domestic violence have changed since they took up residence in Ireland.

The participants showed genuine change of perceptions and attitudes toward