.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Violence against women or domestic violence has been a serious problem in most societies throughout history especially Nigeria, and this is prevalent on women. This would make most of this work concentrated on women. Women in Nigeria like their counter parts the world over, suffer domestic violence irrespective of age, class, religion, or social status.[1]
Physical violence in particular is very common among intimate partners in both developed and developing countries. Physical violence is the intentional use of physical force with the potential for causing death, and it includes but is not limited to scratching, pushing, shouting, slapping, and shaking, choking [2].
Violence refers to any abusive treatment of one family member by another, mostly the female gender (girl and women), thus violating the law of basic human right. It includes battering of intimate partner and others, sexual abuse of children (girl), marital rape, and traditional practices that are harmful to women. Female genital mutilation is also a form of domestic violence. [3] Incidents of violence against women include honor, battery, beating, torture, acid bath, widowhood right; male child preference and even death through honor killing.[4]. It has been estimated that one in every three women suffers domestic violence from the hands of those who claim to love and protect them.
Also, it is estimated that one in every five women falls some forms of violence during her life time, leading to serious injury or death in some cases[5]. In Nigeria, report reveals shocking ‘high’ level of violence against women[6].
I know a man in my village who said that he will not stop impregnating his wife until all the eggs in her womb finishes, that the women or wife is his property. All there are violence against women mostly found in Igbo land or culture.
Amnesty international[7] , reports that a third (and in some 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 which girls are often forced into marriage act are at risk of punishment if they attempt to escape from their husbands.
Apart from CEDAW and other international instruments which Nigeria is signatory to that forbid violence against women, the Nigeria constitution itself forbids it. The provision in section 42 of Nigeria constitution, guarantees all Nigeria including women, the right from discrimination on basis sex. Section 34 also guarantees every citizen the right to dignity of human person which in it subsection (a) it forbids torture and inhuman or degrading treatments, subsection (b) it forbids the subjection of anybody to slavery or servitude yet violence against women continues unabated, unchecked and this has been blamed on the loopholes in our laws, some of which undermine the provision for equality in the constitution.
In our society, many women are violently treated by their intimate partners while they suffer in silence. In some cases, domestic violence leads to the death of these women. This should not be allowed to continue because women are crucial to the growth and development of any nation and the world at large. They are homemakers, custodians of social, cultural and fundamental values of the society; and permanent change is often best achieved through them. Full community development is impossible without their understanding, cooperation and effective participation. Considering all these, women deserve better treatment but opposite are usually the case. Wife battery affects the physical and psychological wellbeing of the abused women and even that of their children. It is on this premise that this paper discusses the meaning of domestic violence against women, types of intimate partner violence, effects of these types of violence on abused women and their children. This paper also discusses causes and management of domestic violence against women. In conclusion recommendations were made to eradicate this menace from the society.
1.2 statements of problems
The researcher in this work has identified a number of issue’s and effects of violence against women in Nigeria.
Fundamentally this study is designed to answer the following;
Who is a woman?
What is violence?
What is domestic violence?
What is violence against women?
What are the forms of violence against women?
What are the effects of violence against women?
What are the legal frame work that protects the rights of women
1.3 purpose of study
The Main Purpose Of This Work Is To.
(1) To determine who is a woman and girl
(2) To make a critical discussion on the forms of violence against women and ways to eradicate all of them.
1.4 Scope of Study
The scope of this work is to examine the violence against women ,the forms of violence against women, its impact and Effects on women and legal frame work for protecting women and finally the possible ways to eradicate this violence against women.
1.5 Significance of study.
This study examines all forms of violence against women in Nigeria.
Although there have been scholarly works on the existing literature on the topic, but it also seeks to alert the judges and lawyers to fight all forms of violence against women.
1.6 Methodology
The methodology employed in this work is the doctrinal, comparative, expository, and analytical methods. This work relies on both primary and secondary data in its research. Primary data in this context refers to statutes and case laws while secondary data refers to books published by authors, journals, information gotten from the internet and articles
1.7 Organizational Layout
This work is made up of 5 chapters. Chapter one deals with the general introduction while Chapter two deals with all forms of violence against women in Nigeria. Chapter three discusses effect and impact of violenceagainst women, Chapter four legal frame work that fight against violence against womenAnd Chapter five embodies the conclusion, recommendation
And Bibliography.
1.8 Definition of terms
1.8.1. Violence is defined by the World Health Organization as the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person or against a group of community, which either results in or has a high like hood of resulting in injury, death, psychological mal-development or deprivation.[8]
Violence is an extreme form of aggression, such as assault, rape or murder. It is the application of brutal force to the person of another in a situation which it is absolutely uncalled for, when it occurs within the privacy of the home, it becomes domestics’ violence. Violence has many causes including: frustration, exposure to violent media, violence in the home 0r neighborhood and tendency to see other people action as hostile even when they are not. Certain situations also increase the risk of aggression e.g. drinking, depression, insults, and other provocations.
According to Black’s Law Dictionary[9]. The term ‘violence’ is synonymous with ‘physical force’ and the two are used interchangeably in relation to assault by elementary writer on criminal Law.
Furthermore, violence is perceived as the use of physical force accompanied by fury or outrage[10]
1.8.2 Violence Against Women
“Violence against women means all acts perpetuated against women which cause or could cause them physical, sexual, psychological and economic harm including the threat to **** such acts or to undertake the imposition of arbitrary restrictions on or deprivation of fundamental freedoms in private and public life in peace time and during situations of armed conflicts and war[11].
1.8.3 WOMEN
Means person of female gender including girls[12].
They are of the sex in animals or plants that produce or are capable of producing eggs or bearing young’s ones or pertaining to any reproductive structure that contains element to be fertilized by male elements[13]
1.8.4 DEFINITION OF DISCRIMINATION
Any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of nullifying the recognition, enforcement or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women of human rights and fundamental freedom in the political, economic, social, cultural and civil and any other field[14].
Any distinction, exclusion or restriction any differential treatments based on sex and whose objectives or effect compromise or destroys the recognition of the exercise by women regardless of their marital status of human rights and fundamental freedom in all spheres of life[15].
Defines discrimination as follows:-
The effect of a law or establishment practice that confers privileges to a certain class because of race, age, sex, nationality, religion or handicap or differential treatm0ent especially a failure to treat all persons equally when no reasonable distinction can be found between those favoured and those not favoured[16]
[1]Humm (2000):’violence against women takes center stage at the women’s world forum against violence’. Human right tribune, vol.7, No.4, available at <http://www.hrica/tribune/view/article.asp?ID=2595> accessed on May 20, 2017.
[2] United States Department of Health and Human Services
[3]O.N Ailic, ‘prevalence of Domestic violence in Nigeria: Implications for counseling (2009) 2 EJC, 1.
[4] Heidi. H (1998). A feminist Reading of Security in Africa, 20. Caring Society in Africa, pp. 126-131
[5] . WHO 2005, ’Addressing violence against women and achieving millennium development goals’. Available at < HTTP://www.who.int/gender/en >
[6]Afro news (2007) halt of Nigeria’s women experiencing domestic violence. Available at HTTP://www.afro.com/article/16471 accessed on May 10, 2017.
[7] Amnesty international 2012 available at < HTTP://www.thereport.amnesty.org > accessed on May 10, 2017.
[8] WHO ‘Violence Prevention Alliance’ available at<HTTP://www.who.int/violenceprevention/approach/defination/en/ > accessed on May 20, 2017.
[9] Garner, B.A, et al, Black’s Law dictionary (2nd edition, Minnesota; west publishing company, 2009) p.323
[10] . Prof. C.A Umobi, Domestic Violence against Women in Nigeria: A Legal Anatomy. Onitsha: Folmech Printing and Pub .co.ltd, (2008) p.8.
[11]See Article 1(C) Per Pro ACHPR 2003
[12]Dr V C Ikpeze
[13] . Prof. C.A Umobi, Domestic Violence against Women in Nigeria: A Legal Anatomy. Onitsha: Folmech Printing and Pub .co.ltd, (2008) p.8.
[14] Article 1 CEDAW 1979
[15] ARTICLE 1(F) Pro- ACHPR 2003
[16]Black’s law dictionary.
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