Battered men

New Internationalist, April, 2000 by Kimi Mamfora, Hobbs Gama

Controversy surrounds claims that men are increasingly falling victim to spousal abuse in Malawi. Village heads and church leaders confirm that cases of men seeking redress after suffering domestic violence from their wives are becoming more common. `Let's not pretend things are not happening in our society,' says Phiri, head of a village on the eastern side of Lake Malawi.

But others feel that the cases of male abuse are too few to raise any major concern. Association of Progressive Women (APW) director Reen Kachere admits there is domestic violence against men. However she argues the problem is more pronounced among women. `Malawian women are more victimized because of culture. It is unfortunate that men choose to make minor cases appear like harassment against them,' she says. Director of the Civil Liberties Committee Emmie Chanika says that in 95 per cent of spousal-abuse cases the victim is the women and that this is why domestic violence against women needs the more urgent attention.