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23.07.2009 News

Domestic violence: the unending plight of women and children

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Domestic violence: the unending plight of  women and children
23.07.2009 LISTEN

“Apart from most violence generating from the background of domestic violence, some instances of domestic violence are caused by stress (mental, emotional, or physical strain caused by e.g. by anxiety or overwork. It may cause such symptoms as raise blood pressure or depression) coupled with provocation from the other partner. Imagine a husband coming home stressed out from a hard days work, and coming to meet a nagging housewife. In most cases the nagging nature of women provokes men in so many ways, especially when he is in a stressful mood.”

The alarming rate, at which domestic violence is increasing, has made it exceedingly significant for governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to intensify their campaigns. Since human nature and the passion to react to situations which resist change, so is domestic violence reaching its worst state.

The introduction of the Domestic Violence act, and frequent campaign activities has enlightened people on how to identify and deal with issues of domestic violence, but implementing the knowledge has been a problem. In everyday life, each and everyone, in one way or the other, tends to be a victim of domestic violence, with the perpetrators both men and women, and it is unfortunate that most victims tend to be women and children. Domestic violence occurs in all cultures, race, ethnicities, religions, sexes and classes. Violence against women and children happens to be one of the increasing global issues. No minute passes by without a woman or a girl going through physical, sexual or physiological abuse. The Berlin Conference, which in a way gave women equality and recognition of their right to make a difference in life, turns out to be of no use, as domestic violence tends to sweep away the confidence of women. Many countries have accepted and keep encouraging women, but with some others, women are still victimised.

Domestic violence
According to the Wikipedia, domestic violence occurs when a family member, partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate another. Domestic violence often refers to violence between spouses, or spousal abuse, but can also include cohabitants and non-married intimate partners. Domestic violence has many forms, including physical violence, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, intimidation, economic deprivation, and threats of violence.

The Domestic Violence act, 2007 (Act 732) has added and explained in detail that domestic violence is an action within a previous or existing domestic relationship, and can include economic abuse, namely the deprivation or threatened deprivation of economic or financial resources which a person is entitled to by law, the disposition or threatened disposition of moveable or immovable property in which another has material interest, and hiding or hindering the use of property. Emotional, verbal or psychological abuse, namely any conduct that makes another person feels constantly unhappy, miserable, humiliated, ridiculed, afraid, jittery or depressed, or feels inadequate or worthless. Moreover, a behaviour or conduct that in a way harms or may harm another person, endangers the safety, health or well-being of another person, undermines another person's privacy integrity and security.

Causes
Acts of domestic violenceare mostly intentional or done with passion, therefore, it would be out of context if perpetrators of acts of violence are associated with alcohol and the use of drugs. The main reason of the culprit is mostly to dominate the other individual. He or she will do anything to make the victim feel less than human, by humiliating the one in terms of comparing him or her to something extremely insignificant to bring the person down. Threats will be the commonest verbal expression of the culprit, in order to make the victim too scared to press charges. Culprits in order to protect themselves threaten victims with harm, death or even committing suicide and place the blame on them. They portray all the necessary actions to show the victims that they are the reason for their violent action.

According to research, apart from most violence generating from the background of domestic violence, some instances of domestic violence are caused by stress (mental, emotional, or physical strain caused by e.g. by anxiety or overwork. It may cause such symptoms as raise blood pressure or depression) coupled with provocation from the other partner. Imagine a husband coming home stressed out from a hard days work, and coming to meet a nagging housewife. In most cases the nagging nature of women provokes men in so many ways, especially when he is in a stressful mood. This, however, makes him to overreact, leading to violence on the woman.

Unemployment, leading to economic hardship, can lead to domestic violence, especially when the demands of the wife and children increase day in and day out. The ego personality of men is to be able to provide fully for the household, however, it makes them feel irrelevant when they are not performing such duties. In many cases, these responsibilities of men lead to them being pronounced as the man or head of the household. However, since the existing economic hardship does not permit him to fulfil his duties, he turns to dominate the whole household through acts of violence.

Jealousy is not an expression of love, for most women the expression of jealousy is sign of passionate love of the man for her. In this case, she refuses to take the necessary steps toward preventing that feeling of jealousy in her partner.

Consequences
Domestic violence definitely leads to death or injury. When death and injury occurs, automatically the culprit will end up in jail. More, he might commit suicide over guilt of the death of the partner. However, in many instances, domestic violence leads to broken homes. Partners turn to divorce or get separated, which eventually makes the children leave home to fend for themselves. The consequences of a child leaving home results most times in the child becoming involved in armed robbery, prostitution, might be a victim of child trafficking, child labour or might even die without thwe family knowing. On a very sad note too, the child might harbour that trauma and extend it into his marital home.

Domestic violence and NAP
National Advocacy Partnership (NAP) is a working group of individuals and representatives of states and non-state institutions working in the area of violence against women and children (VAWC). The NAP and other stakeholders have participated actively in the formulation of a national policy and plan of action for implementing the DV act, led by the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MOWAC). NAP has so far undertaken a monitoring project to asses the status of the implementation of the Domestic Violence act and related legislation.

According to NAP, the monitoring project covered the handling of complaints of victims by the police, hospitals handling of persons seeking medical services in relation to violence, in terms of proper and inadequate treatment of injuries, trauma, as well as the general behaviour to war victims and those accompanying them.

NAP has brought these to the attention of the government and the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs, to intervene in terms of all health personnel being trained on the DV act and their particular roles in the act, while all hospitals and health post should be supplied with copies of the DV act. Moreover, the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service should introduce a common protocol for handling DV cases, so that doctors and health personnel throughout the country have a common way of handling victims. The victims support fund should be set up and operationalised effectively, so victims would not have to pay for referrals to other necessary agencies.

Conclusion
Domestic violence is destroying the good capabilities of women everyday, and it is about time the world realised that the development of the world cannot be whole without the help of women. If women and children are continually brutalised and victimised, then surely the dream of the world reaching its highest peak of development might never come to pass. The world is ours, and its development is for the good of everybody, so it is time to do ourselves a favour.

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