CHAPTER ONE
INTROUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Domestic violence is a patter of behavior which involve the abuse of one partner against another, this can occur in intimate relationship, marriage friendship and family affairs, it can take forms of effect on one another, physical violence involves physical afflicting pains and actions. e.g. hitting, slapping, beating, sexual harassment while psychological can be in form of denial of right, abusing, frustration (Journal of the American Medical Association, 1995).
Domestic violence" varies, depending on the context in which it is used. It ma} be defined differently in medical, legal, political or social contexts. The definitions have varied over time, and vary in different parts of the world. Traditionally, domestic violence was mostly associated with physical violence. For instance, according to the (Merriam-Webster dictionary definition, 2005) domestic violence is "the inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another; also: a repeated habitual pattern 'of such behavior.
However, domestic violence today as defined by international conventions arid by governments, has a much broader definition, including economic' abuse. Domestic violence" means any' act of violence, even if upon another household member and includes harm to the other. (Journal of the American Medical Association, 1992).
It is also a pattern of behavior characterized by the misuse of power and control by one person over another who are or have been in an intimate relationship. It can occur in mixed gender relationships and same gender relationships and has profound consequences for the lives of children, individuals, families and communities. It may be physical sexual, emotional and/or psychological. The latter may include intimidation, harassment, and damage to property, threats and financial abuse. (The Act XX on Domestic Violence 2006, in Malta)
Furthermore is also a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner". The definition adds that domestic violence "can happen to anyone regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender", and can take many 'forms, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional, economic, and psychological abuse. (The US Office on Violence against Women)
Domestic violence can be trance back to 1800s, at this period most legal systems accepted wife beating as a valid exercise of a husband's authority over his wife. One exception, however, was the 1641 Body of Liberties of the Massachusetts Bay colonists, which declared that a married woman should be "free from correction or stripes by her husband.
Political agitation during the nineteenth century led to changes in both popular opinion and legislation regarding domestic violence within the United Kingdom and the United States. In 1850, Tennessee became the first state in the United States to explicitly outlaw wife beating. Other states soon followed suit. In 1878, the Matrimonial Causes Act made it possible for women in the UK to seek separations from abusive husbands. By the end of the 1870s, most courts in the United States were uniformly opposed to the right of husbands to physically discipline their wives. By the early twentieth century, it was common for police to intervene in cases of domestic violence in the United States, but arrests remained rare.
The interest of this study is to examine the consequence of domestic violence is Lagos and using Agege local government as a case study, domestic violence as occurred mostly in areas of gender inequality and child abuse in this area of the state, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, has promised that the house will toughen the law against domestic violence and gender discrimination in Nigeria. The Speaker believes that the law would help bridge all gender gaps encouraging discrimination and promote gender equality as recognized by the Constitution. He announced this move at the third national women in parliament summit in Abuja. Female lawmakers at the summit frowned at the low representation of women in the National Assembly which placed Nigeria at the 117th position among democratic nations with less than 6.8percent of women in the nation's Parliament. (Channels Television July 01, 2013).