By Joy Ngwakwe
Nigeria
- Domestic violence against women is one of the most debilitating forms of
violence as it happens at home - a space that ought to be safe for
everyone.
The
word “home” often connotes a place of peace, comfort and safety. Given that the world is made up of small
units of families, the state of the world peace is often derived from what
happens in majority of homes in a given society.
Experts
have stressed the importance of the home in shaping children into responsible
adults. In fact many cases of adult
dysfunction are traceable to the home environment. Testimonies of successful adults often point
to the role their homes played in contributing to their success in the larger
society. In the same vein unsuccessful
adults, including those that end up in prisons for crimes also trace their
behavioral pattern and habit to the home in which they grew up.
Of
course this does not, by any means, justify bad behavior or crime as the court
system ensures that criminals face the consequences for their actions. Failure to tackle violence in the home,
however, hinders breaking the violence cycle and dealing with the destructive
impact of domestic violence against women as well as children.
Domestic violence against women has
become one of the most pervasive forms of gender-based violence and violation
of women’s human rights. According to
the United Nations, about 35% of women “have experienced either physical and/or
sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner at some
point in their lives. However, some national studies show that up to 70 per
cent of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate
partner in their lifetime”[1]
Domestic violence transcends cultures and social class, and cuts across
continents, societies, formal and informal settings with its devastating
consequences on women/girls in particular and the society in general.
Whereas
all forms of violence against women are very debilitating wherever they occur,
violence in the homes, a supposed safe space, leaves very lasting impressions
and consequences on both victims and those who observe the violent act such as
children. Domestic violence against women is often perpetrated by significant others
such as husbands/partners and therefore highlight issues of gender power
relations and women’s dependency on the men occasioned by either societal
expectations of women or poverty.
Societal expectation and economic status of majority of women are factors
that often combine to make many women remain in violent relationships even in
the face of certain death.
In
addition to the massive impact of domestic violence on women is its impact on
children who grow up in homes where their mother is constantly battered by the
father figure. Research by a Nigeria-based organization [2]conducted
in Lagos in 2009 concluded that: “Children born in abusive and violent homes
grow up with violent and abusive habits.
Frequently, men that batter their wives often confess that they grew-up
watching their father beat their mother.
The family is the smallest and closest unit of every society and what
happens at the family unit is a reflection of what to expect in the larger society. When gender-based violence against women and
girls is practiced in a large number of our families, the society becomes
generally violent.”
This
was confirmed by another research[3]
which found that “Children who witness violence in the home and children who
are abused may display many similar psychologic effects. … Child witnesses
display inappropriate attitudes about violence as a means of resolving conflict
and indicate a greater willingness to use violence themselves”.
The
impact of domestic violence on women and children thus has very significant
implications for the status of peace or violence in the larger society- the
world in general. The notion “From
Violence in the Home to Violence in the World” has therefore become an issue
that requires urgent attention from all stakeholders who seek to combat all
forms of violence. In an apparent
understanding of these linkages the 2015 16 Days Campaign Against Violence
Against Women is focused on the theme, “From Peace in the Home to Peace in
World: Make education Safe for All”.
Conversely the 2015 theme may therefore be substituted to say: “From
Violence in the Home to Violence in the World”.
One
of the most difficult factors in dealing with domestic violence is the culture
of silence which makes it deadlier than other forms of violence against
women. Many suggestions have been
proffered to counter the culture of silence but until the women are
systematically supported and encouraged to report domestic violence they will
continue to abide by this culture and thus embolden perpetrators of domestic
violence to continue to act in impunity.
Breaking the culture of silence must also be juxtaposed with stricter
penalties on perpetrators in order to encourage more women to report such
violence
Many
countries, including countries in the global south have provided legal
platforms for redressing domestic violence, however, these laws are often
subject to personal biases of interpreters and enforcers, including security
and judicial officers. Greater efforts
should be made to not only ensure that women receive the required legal aid but
also that they are not shamed in the process of obtaining such services
Children
born into violent homes should be given specialized counseling and help to
re-orient them with correct information that violence is a criminal act and
that perpetrators must face the consequences.
Finally,
as part of this year’s 16 Days Campaign Against Violence Against Women specific
efforts must be made to secure the homes, and make it the safe space it should
be. The need to undertake specific
interventions that seek to prevent, protect women and redress gender-based
violence against women in homes cannot be overstretched.
It
is the very foundation on which a violence-free world may be built.
Ends/
Joy Ngwakwe is Executive Director of
the Nigeria-based Center for Advancement of Development Rights (CEADER) and an
African Women Development Fund (AWDF) Fellow.
[2] Kudrat Initiative for Democracy (KIND),
“Women in Peril: A Research Report on Women & Girls’ Experience of
Gender-based Violence in Lagos State” ISBN: 978-978-901-453-8-2009- Research
conducted and written by Joy Ngwakwe assisted by Peju Olaniyi
[3] Melissa M.
Stiles, Witnessing Domestic Violence: The Effect on Children http://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/1201/p2052.html
