Prevalence of Domestic Violence in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State

ABSTRACT
Physical violence, by definition, is the intentional use of physical force with the potential for causing death, disability, injury or harm. Physical violence among both men and women is a universal problem around the globe, and different people experience and perceive it differently. It is known to occur across society, irrespective of age, gender, race, sexuality, wealth or geography inclination. It is also known not to be affected by intimate or non-intimate relationship in males and females. We analyzed 102 cases in the Accident and Emergency Department, Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki over two years from January 2016 to December 2018. Out of 102 cases, we recorded eight cases of death. The results obtained showed different types of domestic violence which include: physical violence, psychological violence and sexual violence. The age of the couples and their employment status did not correlate with domestic violence among couples, and that gender and educational status did not associate with domestic violence significantly. Thirty-four cases (33.3%) sustained bruises as a result of physical assault from either the husband or his relatives. Most of the women complained of being beaten and raped by their husbands, and from this study, it showed that thirty-one cases (30.4%) were reported as rape cases. One significant finding of this index study is that urban women prevalently experience domestic violence. Implying that the financial stress placed on men by their wives compounded with the high rate of illiteracy and unemployment among the individuals may not be unconnected with domestic violence stimulators.