CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
One of the major agents of socialization in the family and it’s the smallest unit of the society. The family is the first and most important agent of socialization because that is the place a child has he/her first encounter in life and its plays a major role in the development of the child. Psychology has proven that the brain of a child is blank like a white board and whatever that is written inside it, stays and contribute to the growth of the child either in a good or bad way. Activities that go on in the family between husband and wife affects a child negatively or positively. Research has shown that one of the factors that affect a home nowadays is domestic violence among couples. The higher percent of this violence is majorly against the wives in the home due to one reason or the other and it has become a trending issue. Domestic violence is a controversial issue which makes its assessment quite difficult.
Over the time, the term has borne various definitions. According to Amnesty International, Nigeria (2005), it as an act of threatening, harassment or violence of any kind either psychological, physical, sexual or emotional between adults involved in a relationship or previously involved in one, regardless of their sex gender. Violence against women includes also domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, human traffic, genital mutilation and forced marriage.
Many women experience different kind of domestic violence from their husbands ranging from physical abuse such as beating, slapping, using of objects on the woman, suffocating, etc. Sexual abuse is another kind of domestic violence women experience in their homes such as forced vaginal penetration, anal penetration, oral stimulation, forced exposure to material or explicit sexual activity. violence against women includes any spoken, physical or sexual act meant to violate either body or identity of a woman regardless of her age, race, ethnicity or country.
Dutton (1992) defines physical violence as any behavior that involves the intentional use of force against the body of another person and that may cause physical injury, injury and / or pain. The author defines sexual abuse as any unwanted sexual intimacy imposed on an individual by another. The issue of domestic violence according to research has led to the death of many women. Some were injured severely, some pregnant women lost their babies while some were disabled. In 1994, statistics from the justice office shows that about 92% of domestic violence cases in the world involved women.
Wopadovi (women against domestic violence) 2014, domestic violence threatens many Nigerian families and, unfortunately, increases in our society. It makes women feel less of themselves and reduces their dignity of person in the society. Every country frowns on the issue of domestic violence including Nigeria. In section 42 of 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended), guarantees all Nigeria including women, the right from discrimination on basis sex. Also, Section 34 guarantees every citizen the right to dignity of human person which in it subsection (a) it forbids torture and inhuman or degrading treatments, subsection (b) it forbids the subjection of anybody to slavery or servitude yet violence against women continues unabated, unchecked and this has been blamed on the loopholes in our laws, some of which undermine the provision for equality in the constitution. One thing about domestic violence is that it can happen to anyone irrespective of their social status, race, religion or education.