By Josfyn Uba, Bianca-Iboma Emefu and Ngozi Nwoke
In December 2020, just as the Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, had finished reconciling a Channels Television reporter, Pius Angbo, and his wife, Ifeyinwa, over issues bordering on domestic violence, a lady was alleged to have fled after setting her lover ablaze at his Shaahu Road residence in Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State, for his alleged refusal to marry her. The lady was said to have set the house on fire by 1:30am that day after her lover, simply identified as Jude, his mother and a little boy had gone to bed.
This came a month after a middle-aged man, simply identified as Nicodemus, had also set himself and his girlfriend, Shiminenge, ablaze in Makurdi. While he died on the spot, the girlfriend died later at the Benue State Teaching Hospital, Makurdi. Nicodemus allegedly abandoned his wife and kids for Shiminenge but trouble ensued when she told him of her plan to marry someone else.
These and other chilling tales of anguish and horror are daily being recorded in different parts of Nigeria. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said it received 524 complaints of sexual and gender-based assault against women from Kaduna State alone in 2021. Mr. Terngu Gwar, the commission’s state coordinator, ascribed the increase in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) to the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming that the pandemic restricted transportation and resulted in many people losing their jobs, which in turn brought about an increase in poverty, bitterness and anger.
Gwar claimed that, out of the 524 complaints received in 2021, 224 were mostly about domestic violence against women, even though there were other types of violence against women and girls. The NHRC headquarters in Abuja had also reported in November 2021 that it received over 139,780 complaints of SGBV between 2020 and March 2021.
In Lagos State, the authorities had recorded a total of 10,007 cases of domestic violence, including sexual abuse, perpetrated against adults and children between May 2019 and August 26, 2021.
A few weeks ago, famous Nigerian gospel musician Osinachi Nwachukwu’s death in an Abuja hospital sparked controversies, with claims about her abusive marriage that allegedly led to her death. And as the controversy over the death of late gospel singer, Osinachi, raged, the nation woke up to yet another ugly incident about a Scotland returnee, Chinyere Ogudoro, and her brother, Ifeanyi, reportedly burnt to death by her husband, Benjamin Ogudoro, in Abule Ado, Lagos State. It was gathered that Benjamin, an indigene of Ngor Okpalla Local Government in Imo State, set his wife, Chinyere, and her brother on fire while they were asleep in one of the rooms in their apartment about 1.40am.
After setting them ablaze, he locked the door from outside, ran out and began to shout, “fire, fire,” to make the incident look like a fire outbreak. He ran towards a bar where he was seen drinking earlier that day and collapsed on the ground before his friends rushed him to the hospital. He was later arrested by the police at the hospital where he was receiving treatment after his act was blown open.
These heart-rending tales have only added to the statistics of the global account of domestic violence. Even before the coronavirus outbreak, violence against women had reached pandemic proportions.
During COVID-19 lockdowns, many women and girls were isolated in unsafe environments where they were at heightened risk of experiencing intimate partner violence.
Around one-third of women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner and 18 per cent have experienced such violence in the past 12 months. In the most extreme cases, violence against women is lethal: globally, an estimated 137 women are killed by their intimate partner or a family member every day.
The Federal Government said reported cases of domestic and sexual violence tripled during the period of COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria. Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, disclosed this in Abuja at a programme to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the World Union of Catholic Women. The programme had the theme “The role of women in eliminating gender violence.” It was organised by the Catholic Women Organisation of Nigeria.
Tallen said: “Gender-based violence is reported to have significantly increased since the lockdowns began in most affected areas of the country.”
Sometime last year, too, Hollywood actress, Angelina Jolie, in her role as UNHCR Special Envoy, while delivering a speech at the second International Conference on Action with Women and Peace in Seoul, Korea, acknowledged that many women were imprisoned, under attack or murdered for claiming their rights. She called for perpetrators to be held to account, and for the prioritisation and funding of anti-sexual violence programmes, as well as the protection of human rights defenders: “Violence against women is endemic in every country and culture, causing harm to millions of women and their families, and this has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In the words of Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, “Unlike COVID-19, violence against women cannot be stopped with a vaccine.”
One in three women globally, around 736 million, have been subjected to physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, according to new analysis by WHO. The report suggests that, although the number of women affected by violence has remained largely unchanged since the last global WHO study in 2013, this violence starts at a young age.
One in four women aged between 15 to 24 years will have already experienced violence by an intimate partner by the time they reach their mid-20s. The WHO says this is the largest study ever done of its kind, updating previous estimates released in 2013. The organisation analyzed data from surveys in 161 countries between 2000 and 2018 to produce the new estimations. The study did not include data from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Intimate partner violence was found to be the most widespread global form of abuse reported, with around 641 million women saying they had experienced it. However, 6 per cent of women globally said they had been assaulted by someone other than their husband or partner.
“Violence against women is a global public health problem of pandemic proportions and it starts at an early age,” study writer, Dr. Claudia Garcia-Moreno, told the BBC. “The number could be much larger, as fear of stigma could be a barrier to many women reporting sexual violence.”
While female genital mutilation is becoming less common in some countries, at least 200 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to this specific form of violence across Africa and the Middle East, where the practice is most prevalent.
In a sign that attitudes are changing, women’s acceptance of being beaten by their partners decreased in almost 75 per cent of countries, with data over the past seven years. But laws to address domestic violence are not yet universally available, with only 153 countries having such laws.
Gaps are largest in Northern Africa, Western Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where violence against women and girls remains a global issue.
Speaking to Daily Sun, Barrister Efe Anaughe, convener of the Warien Rose Foundation, a domestic violence-focussed organisation, explained some of the factors that have contributed to the rise of domestic violence: “As people grapple with economic stress, it has contributed to the rise of domestic violence. Most men are frustrated due to family pressure and some of them do not have stable income. Also, clerics and religious leaders have encouraged women to stay married because the society would condemn the victims, especially when they are church workers.”
Anaughe added that traditional beliefs have kept women in abusive marriage.
“A woman is forced to submit, even if her rights are infringed upon. The society has contributed to it immensely, as victims usually are scared to speak about it or get help. Most victims prefer to keep silent when they are abused. We need to stop blaming survivors for staying and start supporting them to enable them to live meaningful lives afterwards and by also understanding the many barriers that stand in the way of a woman leaving an abusive relationship.”
She described domestic violence as a pattern of coercive, controlling behaviour that can include physical abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, sexual abuse or financial abuse. It is a pervasive, life-threatening crime that affects thousands of individuals regardless of age, gender, economic status, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or education. Victims are left feeling scared, confused, dependent and insecure about their ability to survive on their own, financially or otherwise. The children of an abused parent must contend with these same fears and realities.
“While there are many types of abuse, there are also warning signs that abuse is present in a relationship, as well as several risk factors that indicate a greater risk for increased violence. Advocacy and education are vital in curbing domestic violence.
According to Mr. Barry, an engineer, “Statistics have shown that over 50 per cent of domestic violence against women is orchestrated by inferiority complex, financial difference and when the man is threatened by the woman’s growth level and status. Most often than not, it stems from insecurity in the marriage, in which case, the man intimidates and keeps the woman in perpetual fear and constant physical abuse to achieve his selfish aim. I advocate that, when a marriage is not working anymore, or gets to that abusive level, both parties should go their separate ways. As a matter of fact, domestic violence is evil and should be totally condemned by all right-thinking people. Violence against women and girls remains a global issue.”
Adeyinka Adeyefa Enyin, who is the founder of Hope Alive Educational Centre, said: “I speak as a domestic violence survivor, an active soldier in the war against domestic violence, who has seen, held the hands of a bleeding lot and seen a few die from the blow of this monster. Domestic violence is a silent killer that has invaded our homes and made our supposed place of solace a place of scare.
“We are now daily confronted with cases of husbands being violent against his wife and/or kids, wife being violent against her husband and/or kids, protracting to other relatives, caregivers, neighbours, educators, etc. Domestic terrorism, a friend of mine calls it.
“Every human is unique, same goes for each case of domestic violence. Experience has brought to fore the following as usual causes of domestic violence:
“Abusive background of the abuser, which make him/her feel its normal or a necessity. Insecurities or financial stress on the abuser, especially if the partner is not handling it well.
“Verbal or emotional abuse of the abuser can easily trigger an episode. Lack of interest in or distraction from the marriage while overwhelmed with the feeling of being stuck in a no-divorce-option marriage; Anger issues or transfer of aggression, combustion of emotions like jealousy, humiliation, envy, low self-esteem, desire for absolute control over the victim. Mental illness or substance abuse.
“Previous history of violence as a victim or third party.
“The effect of the expression of domestic violence caused by any of the above reasons is better imagined than experienced. Trust me, it is grossly dehumanizing, shameful and degrading.
On a female or even ‘strong’ male, domestic violence in its emotional, verbal psychological, social, financial or physical form has the power to break the will of its victim.
“Apart from visible body injuries, domestic violence of any form causes victims mental harm, makes them insecure, gives constant nightmares and flashbacks, panic attacks and drains him/her of all iota of self-esteem. An attack of any/all the above negative emotions on any mortal is most likely mismanaged and in effect we have a spillout to the society and its first point of call is the children of the family and then the cycle continues.
“Let us start from the very beginning, the home front. Every abuser was once a baby, a blank sheet, but somewhere along the line, he/she got corrupted and became a villain. Learning can be direct and indirect but the indirect sticks faster, so, we need to be careful what we do and say in front of our little ones. Furthermore, every word, action, disposition, gesticulation and even play should be closely monitored and pruned, if need be. Like any trained doctor would do, the above-listed causes of domestic violence should be treated on causal basis, hence, some would require financial/academic empowerment, psychological, emotional or spiritual interventions.”
The last and a one-size-fits-all recommendation is value of humanity expressed by a show of sincere love.