Nigeria: half of women experience domestic violence

Off Our Backs, May/Jun 2005 by Verma, Priya, Douglas, Carol Anne, Pleatman, Rachel, Chapman, Annsley, Et al

According to a report by Amnesty International, up to two-thirds of women in certain communities in Nigeria's Lagos State have experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence in the family and in other areas. Approximately 50 percent of women say they are victims of domestic violence.

Most women in Nigeria are unaware of psychological abuse in marriage. Twenty percent of the urban women interviewed and 29 percent of the rural women did not know if they had been subjected to abuse or not.

In some cases, the report found, vicious acid attacks have left women with horrific disfigurements, in a brutal form of punishment known as an "acid bath." Such violence is deliberately intended to mutilate or kill -and many women subjected to an "acid bath" die as a result of the attack.

"On a daily basis Nigerian women are beaten, raped and even murdered by members of their family for supposed transgressions, which can range from not having meals ready on time to visiting family members without their husband's permission," said Stephane Mikala of Amnesty International.

The few rape victims who summon up the courage to take their cases to court face humiliating rules of evidence, discriminatory attitudes from police and court officials, and little chance of justice. Additionally, the police and courts often dismiss domestic violence as a family matter.

-info from afrol.com, bbc.co.uk 5/31