Preventing domestic abuse

Often, there is outcry in the media especially on social media when news of intimate partner violence is made public especially if such domestic abuse ends in tragedy.

At such periods, there is always a lot of opinions about what should have been done or what the next step should be in getting justice for the dead or welfare of the children where such exists and blame game of both victim and the perpetrator.

Such discussions throw up the issue bordering on the importance of protecting victims of domestic violence in a society like Nigeria where at times, cultural and religious beliefs as well as social norms dictate that it is normal for victims to live with and manage abuse.

These norms are not acceptable because in Nigeria, abuse is a criminal offence and this is why there are specific provisions in the law aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence and abuse.

Domestic abuse is the intentional and continuous abuse of any individual in the home irrespective of gender, in a way that causes pain, distress or injury or when individuals are subjected to persistent trauma; physical, emotional or psychological.

And contrary to the general belief that abuse is only physical, there exists carious types of abuse and they are all recognised under the law.  Aside the common physical abuse which is the maltreatment of a person; beating, throwing, hitting, drowning, poisoning, burning, stabbing, suffocating, gagging and use of harmful substances like pepper and acid, there are other forms of abuses.

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There is the psychological and emotional abuse which covers acts that attack or erode the victim’s feeling of self-worth and harmful cultural practices which thrive in the Nigerian society because of the culture which includes Female Genital Mutilation and harmful widowhood practices.

Women and girls are the most vulnerable to multiple forms of violence and domestic abuse in Nigerian homes and there are legal provisions put in place to ensure their protection

There are many provisions for protection; aside the general law like criminal code and penal code, there are specific provisions that guide against abuse, there is the Violence Against Person’s Prohibition Act (VAPP) passed in 2015 and has been domesticated in many states and the Protection Against Domestic Violence Law (PADVL), passed in 2007 but is only applicable in Lagos State.