Domestic Violence Against Women in Nigeria: Economic and Legal Dimenssions

INTRODUCTION

Domestic violence or abuse is violence or other form of abuse by one person towards another in a domestic setting, such as in marriage or co-habitation. It can also be defined as an intentional and persistent abuse of anyone in the home in a way that causes pain, distress or injury. It refers to any abusive treatment of one family member by another, thus violating their basic human rights. The United Nations Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs termed it as intimate partner violence when committed by a spouse or partner in an intimate relationship against the other spouse or partner, and can take place in heterosexual or same-sex relationships, or between former spouses or partners.

Principally, domestic violence involves violence against children, parents, or the elderly. It takes such forms as physical, verbal, emotional, economic, religious, reproductive and sexual abuse, ranging from subtle to coercive/violent forms. These include marital rape and violent physical abuse such as choking, beating, female genital mutilation, and acid throwing that results in disfigurement or death. Domestic violence is common in male dominated cultures as it is justified in customs and traditions, and condoned by law. Some of the domestic violence cases go unreported as women and children most often suffer in silence.

Domestic violence occurs globally. Families from all social, racial, and economic backgrounds experience domestic violence in different ways. It is thus reported that every year in the United States of America (USA), about 4.8 million women and children become victims of intimate partner related physical assaults and rape. In Asia as well, domestic violence is prevalent. For instance, 56% of Indian women surveyed by an agency justified beating of wife on grounds like bad cooking, disrespecting in-laws, producing more girls, among other reasons.

In Nigeria, several reports reveal high level of violence against women. Afrol News and Amnesty International report that a third and in most cases two-thirds of women are believed to have been subjected to physical, sexual and psychological violence carried out primarily by husbands, partners and fathers while girls are often forced into early marriage and are at risk of punishment if they attempt to escape from their husbands. A staggering 97.2% of them do not report the crime to the Nigeria Police. They endure and sometimes die in silence, either based on the belief that the law will not protect them or from cultural and religious inhibitions.

It therefore implies that women are mostly at the receiving end of violence in the society. Against this background, the paper sets out to examine domestic violence with specific reference to women in Nigeria from economic perspective and the available legislation to halt the menace in Nigeria. The paper is divided into various sections; the introduction followed by domestic violence in Nigeria, economic dimensions, legal dimensions, conclusion and recommendations.