EVERY society has values, beliefs and norms that are part of their heritage and evolve into a way of life that is passed down from generation to generation. These norms become the culture of a people and they go a long way in shaping individual behaviours and belief.
In the traditional African society, some of these norms have been found to encourage all forms of violence, especially gender-based violence. Though there are some norms that serve as protection against violence, there are many that encourage diverse forms of violence against women, especially in patriarchal societies.
In some societies, it is believed that a man is superior to a woman and as such has the right to take decisions that affect the welfare of the woman without considering her opinion or feelings. Indeed, some societies see violence as the only means of resolving conflicts and proving superiority and, consequently, violence is an acceptable way of life in such communities.
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Violence is also acceptable in child training in some climes either as a normal method of resolving conflict, correcting a child, or as a usual part of training a child to follow expected guidelines. Children that are trained with violence learn to see violence as normal, entrenching violence as a way of life in such communities.
Research has proved that social tolerance to violence is learnt from childhood as a result of witnessing violence in the family, through extreme corporal punishment or the kind of things a child is exposed to in the community or through films and the media.
Some norms that encourage gender violence are entrenched in the belief that men must be ahead and in control of women. And often, these norms which are usually unspoken and unwritten, become rules or expectations of behaviour within identified groups or communities. They become the yardstick used to measure acceptable or unacceptable behaviour by people in the society. And most often, they usually subjugate the female folks in such societies. This is why the belief that ‘we live in a man’s world’ thrives and is generally acceptable.
Because such norms are passed from generation to generation, people are forced to conform to the dictates of such norms. In the bid to be seen as following appropriate behavioural pattern individuals not only obey these norms, but also apply pressure on their dependents to maintain them using psychological, emotional or physical methods like punishment, creating a sense of guilt and shame which forces people to internalize the expected norms.
Though norms vary widely and are peculiar to particular groups or communities, different cultural and social norms support different types of violence in different communities. There are major traditional beliefs that stipulate that men have a right to control or discipline women through physical means, and this makes women vulnerable to violence by intimate partners and places girls at risk of sexual abuse
Religious beliefs that emphasise that women must be submissive in a relationship also allows violence, especially in situations where the men have internalized the culture that violence is a normal act and acceptable mode of resolving issues.
Some norms support diverse types of violence in child maltreatment. In many communities, female children are seen to be of no value while the male children are celebrated, sent to school and allowed to inherit properties. Female children are considered to have less social and economic potential and thus, they have a low status in society and within the family and community as a whole and are vulnerable to harmful traditional practices.
Such norms need to be examined before violence can be effectively eradicated.
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