Gender Violence in Ondo State (2012 – 2022)
Chapter One
Objectives of the Study
The broad objective of the study is to gain an understanding of gender Violence. The following are the specific objectives which the study is meant to achieve:
- To examine the place of gender in the incidence of gender violence.
- To examine the relationship between dominance and domestic violence
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
This chapter focuses on the review of related literature and the theoretical framework for the subject matter under study. In any meaningful study of problem of this nature, the researcher must deem it necessary to get very familiar with the findings or works of previous authors in the area of study. Based on the above assertion, this chapter focuses on the review of literature related to the study.
Overview of gender violence
When people think of gender violence, they often picture battered women who have been physically assaulted. But not all abusive relationships involves violence. Just because you’re not battered and bruised doesn’t mean you’re not being abused. Many men and women suffer from emotional abuse, which is no less destructive. Unfortunately, emotional abuse is often minimized or overlooked – even by the person being abused. Despite what many people believe, domestic violence and abuse is not due to the abuser’s loss of control over his or her behavior. In fact, abusive behavior and violence is a deliberate choice made by the abuser in order to control you. Domestic violence can happen to anyone, regardless of size, gender, or strength, yet the problem is often overlooked, excused, or denied. This is especially true when the abuse is psychological, rather than physical. Emotional abuse is often minimized, yet it can leave deep and lasting scars. Noticing and acknowledging the warning signs and symptoms of gender violence and abuse is the first step to ending it. No one should live in fear of the person they love. If you recognize yourself or someone you know in the following warning signs and descriptions of abuse, don’t hesitate to reach out. There is help available. Domestic abuse, also known as spousal abuse, occurs when one person in an intimate relationship or marriage tries to dominate and control the other person.
The monarch Adepoju Adesina of Akure, the capital city of Ondo State in Nigeria, has been deposed following an incident of public battery of his estranged wife. This
is a landmark achievement for women’s human rights activists in Nigeria to have an Oba (a high ranking traditional ruler in a community) dethroned and banished from his kingdom for publicly beating his wife! Considering the age long tolerance of violence against women in Nigeria and on the other hand the unrelenting struggles of women’s human rights activists to ensure that violence against women — being the most prominent form of human rights abuse — is eliminated in the society, we are indeed happy with this outcome and hope that it will set a precedent and encourage more people to break the silence on violence against women as well as dismantle all cultural barriers that condone violence against women in Nigeria (Punch Newspaper, 2010).
Domestic abuse that includes physical violence is called domestic violence. Domestic violence and abuse are used for one purpose and one purpose only: to gain and maintain total control over you. An abuser doesn’t “play fair.” Abusers use fear, guilt, shame, and intimidation to wear you down and keep you under his or her thumb.
Your abuser may also threaten you, hurt you, or hurt those around you. Domestic violence is often referring to the physical abuse of a spouse or intimate partner. Physical abuse is the use of physical force against someone in a way that injures or endangers that person. Physical assault or battering is a crime, whether it occurs inside or outside of the family. The police have the power and authority to protect you from physical attack Domestic violence and abuse does not discriminate. It happens among heterosexual couples and in same-sex partnerships. It occurs within all age ranges, ethnic backgrounds, and economic levels. And while women are more commonly victimized, men are also abused – especially verbally and emotionally, although sometimes even physically as well. The bottom line is that abusive behavior is never acceptable, whether it’s coming from a man, a woman, a teenager, or an older adult. You deserve to feel valued, respected, and safe. Any situation in which you are forced to participate in or degrading sexual activity is sexual abuse. Forced sex, even by a spouse or intimate partner with whom you also have consensual sex, is an act of aggression and violence. Furthermore, people whose partners abuse them physically and sexually are at a higher risk of being seriously injured or killed. People hit and abuse family members because they can.In today’s society, as reflected in TV, movies, law enforcement, courts, and feminist propaganda, women are openly given permission to hit men. Presently 25% – 30% of all intimate violence is exclusively female on male.
Women may be afraid of strangers, but it’s a husband, a lover, a boyfriend, or someone they know who is most likely to hurt them. According to a U.S. Justice Department study, two-thirds of violent attacks against women are committed by someone the woman knows. In the United States, one of the most dangerous places for a woman is her own home. Approximately 1,500 women are killed each year by husbands or boyfriends. About 2 million men per year beat their partners, according to the F.B.I. Most experts say there is no one profile of men who batter or beat women. Domestic violence crosses all social and economic boundaries.
Causes of gender violence
A combination of factors contributes to the high rates of gender violence in Nigeria. In general, domestic violence is seen as a ‘private’ matter to be dealt with by the family, typically a domain of male authority. Nigerian women are expected to behave with subservience to their husbands, and domestic violence is often accepted as a part of marriage. According to Amnesty International, many believe that a woman is “expected to endure whatever she meets in her matrimonial home”, and to provide “sex and obedience” to her husband, who has the right to violate and batter her if she fails to meet her marital duties. For some victims, domestic violence is seen as a sign of love. Domestic violence in Nigeria is often viewed as a necessary corrective tool for women, at best a part and parcel of married life.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODs
This chapter focused on the research methods for the subject matter under study. Research design is the structuring of investigation aimed at identifying variables and their relationships to one another (Asika 2001).
Research Design
The research design for this study is descriptive survey, in the sense that variables presumed to be attributed to domestic violence were measured and examined. It is cross sectional, because the subjects or population used are a representative samples of both male and female, literate and illiterates. This research is aimed at investigating the causes, of gender Violence in Akoko North East Local Government Area of Ondo State. In attempt to measure accurately, both the questionnaire and interview instrument were employed.
Study Population
The target population for this study comprised of male and female indigenes and other settler groups, who are between the ages of 18 years and 55 years. These age categories were drawn from some selected communities that made up Akoko North East Local Government Area. The target population of the selected areas is 8,400 out of which 400 respondents were randomly selected.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Data Presentation
In this chapter the data collected from the field were presented and analyzed. The major aim in this analysis of data collected is to present the general opinion and assessment on “Gender Violence” a case of Akoko North East Local Government Area.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary
This study was put in place to examine the perennial problem of gender Violence in some selected communities in Akoko North East Local Government area of Ondo State.
Gender Violence has no age limit or cultural barrier, and indeed both males and females experience various forms of gender violence throughout their lives. As babies they may be malnourished, sometimes tortured to death due to male child preference. Many cultures allow child marriage which leads to child bearing before the girl’s body is fully developed. There are cases from all over the world of young girls being frequently sexually abused and defiled, sometimes by relatives and those that are supposed to be protecting them.
This research examines the incidence of gender Violence and which gender is more culpable, and if dominance is a major cause of gender violence, its consequence and the risk factors. Growing up in an abusive environment is what makes a person find the sight of a suspect being beaten or burnt to death, entertaining and enjoyable. It is what makes the youth happy and excited about being thugs for wicked politicians. Domestic violence gives rise to a violent society because ‘charity begins at home. The result identified major causes of gender violence to be, power and control, inability to resolve minor conflicts, and financial difficulties, misunderstanding and lack of trust, Inferiority complex, lack of respect, demand for sex, poverty, marital infidelity, lack of understanding, late preparation of food, poor communication between partners, lack of love etc.
Conclusion
Many of the present methods for intervening in domestic disturbances where women are the primary aggressor are dysfunctional. Refusal to recognize female to male violence is evident in the injustices and practices of the current legal system and its failure to protect men from violence and abuse by their intimate partners. Recognition that domestic violence and abuse are often mutual is an essential first step, equal justice demands equal treatment.
However, prevention is better than cure. New approaches to minimizing domestic violence and abuse are needed for both women and men as the current systems, based on the false belief that women cannot be violent, are demonstrably flawed.
First, we must recognize that domestic violence and abuse are human problems, not gender issues. Central to this is the restoration of civil liberties, notably due process which provides the bedrock for any democratic nation.
Secondly, there is a need to reverse mandatory arrest laws to state, an officer “may” arrest rather than “shall” arrest. Coupled with this is the need to eliminate attempts to designate one person, primarily the male, as the primary aggressor.
Finally, recognition of, and treatment for medical and mental health problems in domestic situations for either or both partners would go a long way to solving many issues.
Recommendations
To remedy domestic violence, all stakeholders must be involved – communities, religious institutions, academic institutions, government at all levels etc. Seminars and workshops, where trained counselors would assist in propagating the anti-domestic violence campaign, should be organized. There is the need to create awareness at these fora to underscore the fact that domestic violence in the home serves as a breeding ground for violence in the larger society, hence community’s response has become imperative to reduce it to the barest minimum.
The need to regard domestic violence from a psychological perspective rather than a socio-cultural perspective should be emphasized. People should be made to understand that adults can change the social norms that justify domestic violence by:
- Beingrole models and working together to end violence in the home
- Modelingnon-violent relationships or families
- Disseminatinginformation which condemns domestic violence in schools, during Parents’ Teachers’ Association (PTA) meetings, the school counselor could give enlightenment talks, encouraging parents to use disciplinary measures, which are non-violent on their children and avoid exposing children to domestic violent of any form. Prize-giving day programmes could include short talks on the issue of gender violence, emphasizing its evil consequences and the need for families to avoid it for a better society. The school counselor could organize group counseling sessions for the different age groups.
Contributions to knowledge
This study examined gender Violence in Akoko North East local Government Area. The findings of the study are of great relevance to existing knowledge; the study brings to light some practical and theoretical issues that border on gender Violence.
One of such issue is the high rate of gender violence in our society and its consequences on peace and unity of our great country Nigeria.
Another significant contribution of this study to knowledge is the relevance of power and control theory in explaining the major cause of gender violence among partners.
The study also contributed to knowledge by highlighting major causes of gender violence and suggested ways of reducing it through various means such as understanding, tolerance, increasing communication level between partners and cooperation.
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