Data from StatiSense, an AI data firm, show a contrast in non-marital sexual activity between men and women across Nigeria’s six zones. The findings show that young men have higher statistics of engaging in sex with non-marital partners than their women counterparts in the last 12 months.
The data also show that Northern Nigeria recorded a relatively lower rate of those engaged in sexual activities with non-marital or cohabiting partners in contrast to the Southern part.
In the North Central zone, 44 out of 100 women reported having sex with a non-regular partner, while the numbers dropped to 11 out of 100 in the North East and just 4 out of 100 in the North West.
South-South and South-East zones both reported 98 out of 100 men having had sex with non-marital or cohabiting partners in the period. The Southwest follows closely with 96 out of 100 men, while the North Central, North East, and North West report figures of 91, 71, and 50 out of 100 men, respectively.
In women, the Southern regions, the South East leads with 75 out of 100 women, followed closely by the South-South with 72 out of 100 women, and the South West with 60 out of 100 women.
The data also highlighted differences in HIV prevalence rates between young people aged 15-24 in Northern and Southern Nigeria.
For young women aged 25-24 in the North, the North Central zone reports a prevalence rate of 7 in 1,000, the highest in the region. The North East follows with a prevalence rate of 3 in 1,000, and the North West has the lowest prevalence at 2 in 1,000.
For young men, the North Central zone again leads with an HIV prevalence rate of 4 in 1,000. The North East and North West report lower prevalence rates of 2 in 1,000 and 1 in 1,000, respectively.
For young women in the Southern regions, the South-South leads with HIV prevalence of 9 in 1,000 men, followed by the South-east at 5 in 1,000, and the South West at 3 in 1,000.
For young men, South-South reports 5 in every 1000, Southeast 3 and South West reports 2 HIV prevalences in every 1,000 men.
North West leads the regions with about 96% of young women aged 15-24 years having never had sex, while about 50% South-South.
North West also leads with 94.7% of young men aged 15-24 years having never had sex, while about 46.5% South-South.
Who Cheat on Their Partners
While the data by StatiSense suggests that men are mostly cheating on their partners, some argue that women cheat more but are tricky enough not to get caught. For Jean-Marie Valheur, women cheat out of desires of the heart while men cheat out of desires of the body.
“Women definitely cheat more than men. They just do not get caught. In my experience, women do an excellent job of playing the deception game. They are absolutely great at knowing how to play their husbands,” says Frank Gallagher.
A study by Dr David Holmes, a psychologist at Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom, shows that women, more than ever, now have more extra-marital affairs than men, only that women are better at hiding their infidelity.
According to him, such women do so because they are either not satisfied with their marriage due to unsatisfactory or lack of emotional care, revenge, feeling under-appreciated, boringness, low self-esteem, peer pressure, financial independence, and sexual dissatisfaction or more serious one, sexual addiction.
Countries Where Adultery is a Crime
In some countries, it is a crime to commit adultery (having sex outside marriage).
Nigeria: Adultery is a criminal offense under the Penal Code in Northern Nigeria. Sections 387 and 388 stipulate imprisonment for two years and/or a fine for adultery. Some states follow Sharia law which suggests the death penalty and 100 lashes for married and unmarried individuals, respectively. However, its implementation is not working. Adultery is not a crime in southern Nigeria.
Indonesia: Indonesia’s Sharia law prohibits adultery, with a nine-month jail sentence for those caught. Although the government does not have cheating-related laws, many Muslims in the country follow Sharia. In Aceh province, the government has created a law prohibiting being alone with a member of another sex and adultery.
Taiwan: Adultery is punishable by four months in jail for the third party involved while cheating spouses can face a year. In 2013, the government expressed its desire to abolish it, but a survey revealed that 82.2% of respondents supported keeping the law.
Philippines: In the Philippines, people who engage in sexual intercourse with someone other than their spouse can face jail time, as can the person they cheat with. Women who cheat on their spouses can face up to six years in jail, while men can face up to four and a half years. If a man cheats on his wife, the woman he cheated with is sentenced to exile for four years and one day.
Somalia: In Somalia, anyone who has ever been married—even a divorcee—and who has had an affair is liable to be found guilty of adultery, punishable by stoning to death. An unmarried person who has sex before marriage is liable to be given 100 lashes.
