WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2011-07-26 Time: 01:00:02 Posted By: News Poster
The recent death in Lagos, in controversial circumstances, of a young female banker whose husband is now in detention raises questions about the general attitude towards domestic violence which manifests itself in many forms in Nigeria today: From physical and verbal abuse, to rape and even murder. While spousal abuse cuts across both sexes, women are predominantly the victims in our country. Yet abused women rarely report the violence they endure, for fear of being stigmatized by the society. Where incidents are reported or noticed by third parties, the advice is usually reconciliation, while our policemen and women are known to actively discourage reports of assault between spouses, trivializing such occurrences as ‘domestic’.
The patriarchal interpretations within our various faiths preach endurance as a sure pathway to heaven, so our religious leaders also advise forgiveness, even in the most bizarre of instances. Inevitably, the victim and the abuser (where summoned) are usually advised to go home and find a way to settle their differences, rather than make public the injury or the violence within. Again, most abused women who opt to remain in the most challenging of marriages claim stability for their children as the excuse for their ‘fortitude’.
Unfortunately, they fail to understand that children who witness abuse as a common occurrence in their lives are more likely to grow up believing violence is normal within marriage, and are more likely to replicate similar behaviour as adults.
The fear of being ostracized, the lack of material and financial resources and the general lack of sympathy and support from the public have contributed immensely to the growth of domestic violence in many Nigerian homes. Curbing these tragic incidents is therefore a collective responsibility. It is also the duty ofgovernments, at all levels, to protect the most vulnerable by supporting the establishment of the necessary infrastructure and wherewithal, including safe houses, wherein abused women can be securely accommodated, counselled and enabled to regain some confidence and selfrespect. While it is possible to institute criminal action against the abuser in our country, the investigative and prosecutorial capacities of our law enforcement agencies are a huge disincentive for taking such action. Civil suits for damages can be filed where a conviction is obtained, but again, the system takes too long, giving sufficient time for interventions by ‘well-meaning’ relations as well as religious and community leaders to dissuade the abused from seeking solace from the law courts. The police need to seek for specialization in handling cases reported by these unfortunate women, and alerted to the fact that battery and assault remain felonies in our law books, even where inflicted between spouses.
Incidentally, the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Bill has been lying before the National Assembly for the past seven years. The bill not only addresses emerging forms of violence, it provides commensurate penalties for offences whose sanctions had long since
become obsolete. Significantly, it provides for compensation for victims of violence, which had never before constituted a part of our Laws. The National Assembly needs to hasten the passage of such an important bill. Again, vulnerable groups (such as women and children) need to be placed on the concurrent list during the next constitutional amendment exercise, thereby ensuring that consistent and uniform standards apply across board and can be accessed by and for all such Nigerians.This is necessary because the incidence of violence is oblivious to ethnicity, faith or culture.
Locating vulnerable groups on the concurrent list would not preclude States from making laws on matters that are peculiar to their own contexts and jurisdictions; it would merely ensure that any Nigerian woman or child could be accorded basic and uniform protections anywhere in the country. Ultimately, it behoves all Nigerians to remain diligent and cast away the complacency that has hitherto been the bane of the victims of abuse in our midst. Ignoring the subtle signals of violence inflicted on our females can only lead to disruption in our families and in our society. It can also lead to violence and untimely death. If we therefore fail to act or report, we are all complicit.
Original Source: 
Original date published: 21 July 2011
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201107210494.html?viewall=1