Domestic and Sexual Violence
By
Titilayo C. Orisaremi & Chigozirim Okoro
Introduction
The year 2014 marks a hundred years of Nigeria’s nationhood, yet the extremely high prevalence of violent crimes perpetuated in Nigeria against innocent and harmless citizens by the boko haram insurgents and other criminals is unprecedented. The media is awash with reports of such violent acts as killing of innocent and helpless children and adults; sexual violation of young women and girls; assassination of important personalities; armed robbery attacks; bombing and vandalization of such key social facilities as public schools, hospitals, offices, power, and telecommunications infrastructure. Violence denotes the violation or abuse of the rights of individuals to life, dignity and security (Alemika, 1996). It equally manifests existing inequality and injustice in the society as those in the minority, namely, children, women, the economically poor, ethnic, religious and even political minorities, are more susceptible to violence in any society. Violence assumes several forms: physical; emotional; sexual; psychological; verbal; and even economic through deliberate deprivation. The perpetration of violence is not limited to any specific domain but experienced in the public and private spheres.
Heterosexuality characterises the Nigerian society. Irrespective of the complementary roles of men and women however, unequal gender relations rooted in patriarchy confer higher prestige and value on men (Aina, 2003; Orisaremi & Alubo, 2012). Thus, patriarchy sustained by culture, religion and tradition is a critical factor in gender discrimination; gender power relations; and in gender based violence (GBV). It ensures that women are nearly always in the minority as they are ascribed subordinate status. A very convenient tool that helps societies to secure, institutionalize, and perpetuate gender discrimination is gendered socialization. Additionally, domestic and sexual violence essentially occur in domestic or family setting hence, scholars argue that the institution of the family which is chiefly responsible for primary socialization doubles as the cradle of violence. Yet, the family is often perceived as a private sphere which should neither be invaded nor exposed to public domain (Alemika,1996; Okemgbo et al., 2002; Mehta & Gopalakrishnan, 2007; Baynard, 2010).
Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behaviour used by a household or family member to control another. It involves violence between spouses and other intimate partners; adults and or parents and children; siblings, in-laws, etc. It includes maltreatment of wards, domestic helps as well as the elderly. Like other forms of violence, domestic violence is preventable. It is not an inevitable consequence of the human condition as portrayed by some traditional cultures in Nigeria. For instance, the social acceptance of corporal punishment and beating of children and ‘erring wives’ as a channel for correction and discipline irrespective of the physical, emotional, or psychological harm this practice does to the victim.
The World Health Organization [WHO] and other International agencies explain sexual violence as:
any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work (WHO, 2002:149).
It can be deduced from the foregoing that domestic and sexual violence are often associated with intimate relationships. Despite their close association, not all sexual violations occur within domestic setting and not all domestic violence is sexual. Therefore, efforts shall be made to examine them separately where necessary. Our interest in sexual violence in this chapter is limited to rape, attempted rape and forced same sex among adults. It excludes violation of children, female genital cutting, female and child trafficking, etc. Domestic violence here is equally limited to abusive relationships between intimate partners and other relatives. This chapter mainly examines domestic and sexual violence victimization in Nigeria based on the data from the annual national criminal victimization survey conducted by the CLEEN Foundation for 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Related Literature
The literature on violence highlights the role of socio-cultural factors such as gender, ethnicity, age, marital status, type of marriage (monogamous or polygamous), nature of relationship (consanguineous or by affinity), religious belief, access to economic resources, type of household organization, mode of residence, exposure to violence in the mass media, etc in domestic violence (Orisaremi, 2013). GBV dominates the literature on domestic or sexual violence in Africa as it is generally shown as deriving from existing social structure and cultural patterns (Gachiri, 2000; UNIFEM, 2002; Aina, 2003; Eze, 2008; Orisaremi & Alubo, 2012) emphasising the disadvantaged position of women in society which makes them more vulnerable to GBV victimization than the men (Hayes, 2007; Easton et al., 2007). Similarly, Oyediran and Isiugo-Abanihe (2005) basing their work on the 2003 National Demographic and Health Survey [NDH] data, highlighted the role of culture in condoning and maintaining wife beating in Nigeria. Furthermore, a study on GBV conducted among the Igbo in Imo State by Okemgbo et al. (2002) revealed that 78.8% of respondents had ever been battered by their male counterparts (58.9% of them during pregnancy).Further 21.3% had been forced to have sexual intercourse. It is instructive that 52.6% wanted ‘female circumcision’ to continue. In recognition of the significance of religion in any culture, Rakoczy (2004) studied the effect of Christianity on gender violence in South Africa and found a relationship between patriarchy, Christianity and violence, especially domestic violence. It accentuated the influence of patriarchal structures in Christian tradition in denigrating women and thereby, increasing their vulnerability to various forms of domestic violence. Similarly, Abane (2000) held that Ghanaian culture regards women as ‘inferior beings who can be used and battered at will’ by male heads of households who are expected to chastise their wives as part of their marital prerogative. It is trite to state that domestic and sexual violence constitute significant obstacles to the development of any society.
The 2008 NDHS reports that 7% of women aged 15-49 said they had ever experienced sexual violence. Divorced, separated or widowed women are more likely to have experienced sexual abuse (11%) than currently married women (6%). Sexual violence is about two times lower among women without education (4%) than among those who had been to school (8-9%). The report shows that 36% of women said their current husband or partner perpetrated the act, 23% of ‘never married’ women reported strangers; 18% said friend or acquaintance; while 17% reported current or ex-boyfriend. It is worthy of note that 5% of ever pregnant women reported that they had experienced physical violence during pregnancy.
In recent times however, studies have equally revealed increasing incidents of GBV against men following notable improvement in the economic lot of women. Nonetheless, Holtzworth-Monroe (2005) warned researchers to be circumspect in drawing conclusions about results on the rate of female and male intimate partner violence (IPV) for the following reasons: (a) the lack of ‘an in-depth analysis of the way in which the gender ratio in the perpetration of domestic violence varies with the severity of violence’ (p.1120); (b) because of the politically active nature of the field of gender studies which makes IPV research highly attractive to the general public, including policymakers and other stakeholders like the legislators, the judiciary, the police and funding agencies. The author underscored the need to put controversial findings into context and avoid misrepresentation or distortion of findings for personal or political interests. However, in another study by Holtzworth-Monroe, smutzler & Bates (1997) on the differing consequences of male and female spousal violence, they demonstrated a higher likelihood of female partners sustaining physical injury from partner violence than men. This, they maintained made women more afraid of their violent partner than men.
There are several provisions in international and regional instruments and in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria aimed at protecting and promoting the human rights of each citizen, yet violations of these rights especially in domestic setting go on with impunity. The third article of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (1948) states that: ‘Everyone has a right to life, liberty and security of person’. Nigeria’s Gender Policy followed up on this when it declared: ‘To institute culture of respect for the human rights of women and men’ (Objective 4[c]) as a priority target. Yet, many women go through untold hardships and are denied their fundamental human rights within the family while offenders of this crime carry-on with impunity. In a seeming recognition of gender equality as a core value for transforming Nigeria and achieving development, several other gender-related policies have been formulated by the various government agencies. For instance, the 2002 National Policy and Plan of Action on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria; and the 2004 National Policy on Population for Sustainable Development. Yet not much has been achieved as aptly captured in the statement of Saudatu Bungudu Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development), to the 52nd Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in 2008. She reported that despite the efforts of the Federal and some state governments to ‘enact laws against FGM, the practice persists, as some “practitioners” consider it as a means of livelihood’. It was quite pathetic that in spite of having ratified CEDAW, the government failed to live up to its responsibility to actively protect the rights of the victims of these ‘practitioners’. Thus, Aina (2003) argued that gender discrimination and inequality against women persist in Nigeria despite national and international efforts at eliminating all forms of discrimination against the women folk.
Furthermore, the Nigeria NGO Coalition Shadow Report (2008) pointed out the failure of government to adequately ‘reflect the true reality of Nigerian women’ in her periodic report to the United Nations CEDAW Committee especially as it relates to her responsibility for the protection and advancement of women’s rights in Nigeria. In its evaluation of article 15 of CEDAW, the report identified: (a) the existing practice of several competing laws (statutory, customary, and Islamic); (b) the discriminatory and conflicting definitions and principles of these laws; (c) the existing patriarchal structures; as factors that constitute a major challenge to achieving gender equality in legal terms. Other Nigerian scholars have equally argued that rather than protect women and girls from violence, the current laws in Nigeria tend to promote it (Mahdi, 2011; Daudu, 2007). The most cited Section 55 (4) of the penal code that legalizes ‘corrective’ beating of a child and female spouse once it does not cause any ‘grievous bodily harm’ has generated more questions than answers as regards what constitutes ‘grievous bodily harm’ among others.
The British Council report on gender in Nigeria asserts among other things: (a) the existence of an ‘entrenched culture of impunity’ for rape offenders; (b) that the Nigerian police force ‘is the least trusted state institution’; and (c) that criminal victimization such as rape are hardly brought to court because they are under-reported. Experts have also argued that both the criminal and penal codes do not only exclude marital rape from their respective definition of rape, but that the crime assumes different definitions under various existing justice systems (Nigeria NGO Coalition Report, 2008). All of these is suggestive of the failure of the relevant formal agencies to give desired attention and priority to the crime of sexual violence in Nigeria. A national survey report such as this helps to improve the understanding of the problem in Nigeria by the general public and these stakeholders.
Analysis of Domestic and Sexual Violence Victimization
Statistics on the nature of crime are not only of interest to the general public and researchers, they are of utmost importance to security and law enforcement agencies saddled with the responsibility to prevent and manage crime in our society. In this section, we examine some of these statistics that seek to describe the trend, pattern and extent of domestic and sexual violence in Nigeria using the data from the annual NCVS. Because of the small numbers recorded against sexual violence in particular compared to other crimes, the state and regional specific results are summarised and the national total presented here for statistical purposes.
Domestic and sexual violence victimization
On the whole more respondents reported victimization for domestic than of sexual violence involving themselves or other members of their household. Nonetheless, except for 2011, reported experience of personal victimization for sexual violence is higher than that of household member victimization. This may not be unconnected with the perceived private and personal nature of the crime. This implies that in general, victims neither disclose their “personal” experiences to others nor get to know the experiences of others particularly in relation to sexual abuses. While personal victimization for domestic violence increased significantly from 17.3% in 2005 to 30.6% in 2011 with a slight decrease in 2012 (30%), personal victimization for sexual violence seems to be on a steady decline contrary to popular belief. The trend is however not so discerniable for victimization of household members which increased from 4.1% in 2005 to 5.0% in 2006. It decreased to 4.4% in 2010 and again increased to 5.9% and 5.8% in 2011 and 2012 respectively. The difference in the total number of respondents (N) for the two types of questions, namely, victimization of household members and personal victimization reflects the fact that questions on personal victimization for sexual violence were expressly targeted at women. Table 1 presents the responses of all respondents to questions on victimization of household members for domestic and sexual violence; all responses to questions on personal victimization for domestic violence; and the responses of female respondents only on their personal victimization for sexual violence.
Table 1: Domestic and sexual violence victimization
2005 %
2006 %
2010 %
2011 %
2012 %
Experience of victimization of household members
N10036
N 1161
N 11518
11518
11518
Domestic Violence
-
-
13.6
19.8
18.8
Sexual Violence
4.1
5.0
4.4
5.9
5.8
Experience of Personal Victimization
Domestic Violence
17.3
13.0
21.0
30.6
30.0
Sexual Violence
9.6
(N 4940)
8.6
(N 5585)
5.2
(N 5767)
5.8
(N5761)
10.1
(N 5756)
Type of personal victimization for sexual violence
Of the three types of sexual violence analyzed in this chapter: attempted rape; rape; and forced same sex, mention of incidents of attempted rape was higher in 2005 at 5.2% and in 2006, 4.9%. This trend changed as forced same sex became more commonly reported between 2010 and 2012. Record of personal victimization for forced same sex was much higher than for personal victimization for the other two forms of sexual violence for 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively. Details are presented in table 2:
Table 2: Type of personal victimization for sexual violence
Type
N 4939
N 5585
N 2729
N 3575
N 2858
2005 %
2006 %
2010 %
2011 %
2012 %
Attempted Rape
5.2
4.9
3.0
3.8
2.7
Rape
3.0
2.1
1.2
2.3
1.6
Forced Same Sex
1.4
2.1
4.4
5.6
4.4
Location of sexual and domestic violence
Every year, not less than 54% of sexual and domestic violence occurs at home or near the home with the exception of 2012. In 2010, 76% of attempted rape occurred within the home environment (either at home or near the home) of the victim; 71% of rape in 2011; 83% of forced same sex in 2010; and 91.2% and 90.1% domestic violence in 2011 and 2012 respectively. A significant proportion of sexual violence occurred at school or in the work place: 20.8% of attempted rape in 2005; 15.2% of rape in 2006; 24.6% and 15.3% of forced same sex in 2005 and 2011 respectively. The experience of domestic violence in school or in the workplace is higher than “elsewhere”. However, it is instructive that as much as 30% of rape occurred “elsewhere” in 2010; 25.8% in 2011; and 32% in 2012. Although table 3 below shows that a significant proportion does occur “elsewhere”, when data for “elsewhere is disaggregated, to reflect “elsewhere within the State” and “elsewhere outside the State” as stated in the research instrument, respondents tend to mention more of rape cases which occurred “elsewhere outside the state” than those that occurred “elsewhere within the state”.
Table 3: Location of Sexual and Domestic Violence
Type of Sexual Violence
Location
2005 (%)
2006 (%)
2010 (%)
2011 (%)
2012 (%)
Attempted Rape
Home Environment
N 159
N 174
N 44
N 74
N 76
54.1
58.0
76.5
62.2
46.1
School/Work Environment
20.8
16.1
11.8
8.1
10.5
Elsewhere
25.5
25.9
11.8
29.8
43.4
Rape
Home Environment
N 119
N 105
N 33
N35
N47
68.9
57.1
65.0
71.4
55.3
School/Work Environment
14.3
15.2
5.0
2.9
12.3
Elsewhere
16.8
27.6
30.0
25.8
31.9
Forced Same Sex
Home Environment
N 57
-
N 65
N 98
N 127
54.4
-
83.0
74.5
69.3
School/Work Environment
24.6
-
7.7
15.3
11.8
Elsewhere
21.0
-
9.2
10.2
18.8
Domestic Violence/Violence by
Relatives
Home Environment
N 572
N 1095
N 850
-
-
85.5
91.2
90.1
School/Work Environment
-
-
8.2
4.2
5.1
Elsewhere
-
-
6.3
4.5
4.8
Timing of personal victimization
More than 1 in every 3 cases of attempted rape occurred in the evening (38% in 2005 and 37.4% in 2006) followed by night (27.2% and 31%); and afternoon (29.7% and 2.2%) in 2005 and 2006 respectively. This trend however changed in 2010 as evening and night/midnight recorded the highest rate (42.7% and 33.3%) respectively. Morning had the least occurrence with 4.3% in 2010; 5.1% in 2005 and 9.4% in 2006. Rape, however ,occurred mostly at night and midnight, 40% in 2006 and 44.9% in 2010. This is followed by evening while afternoon recorded the least occurrence. On the other hand, forced same sex in the afternoon recorded 56.4% in 2005 and dropped to 16.7% in 2006. It increased from 20% in the evening and at night in 2005 to 35.2% respectively in 2006, while domestic violence in 2010 occurred mostly in the afternoon (32.6%); and evening (30.9%).
Table 4: Timing of personal victimization
Type of Violence
Time of Occurrence
2005 %
2006 %
2010 %
Domestic
Morning
N 1152
-
-
26.3
Afternoon
-
-
32.6
Evening
-
-
30.9
Night/Midnight
-
-
10.2
Attempted Rape
N 158
N 171
N 117
Morning
5.1
9.4
4.3
Afternoon
29.7
2.2
19.7
Evening
38.0
37.4
42.7
Night/Midnight
27.2
31.0
33.3
Rape
N 118
N 101
N 78
Morning
4.2
6.9
3.8
Afternoon
16.9
20.8
7.7
Evening
39.8
31.7
43.6
Night/Midnight
39.0
40.6
44.9
Forced Same Sex
N 55
N54
-
Morning
3.6
13.0
-
Afternoon
56.4
16.7
-
Evening
20.0
35.2
-
Night/Midnight
20.0
35.2
-
Relationship with offender
Rape was largely perpetrated by men not only known to the women but with whom the latter had had some level of intimate relationship. Thirteen point six percent in 2005; 13.5% in 2006; and 11.4% in 2010 respectively were ex-boyfriends to the female victims. Mention of perpetration of rape by current boyfriend, ex and current partner, close friends, school and or workmate, and even among acquaintances was significantly high but very low among current spouse or partner. Seventeen point seven percent of offenders in 2005; 14.8% in 2011 and 2012 respectively, were facially known to victims. Also, men who wielded some level of authority or control over women were found to be significant offenders. Table 5 presents the relationship between victims and offenders:
Table 5: Relationship with rape offenders
Type of Violence
Relationship
N 162
N 280
N 158
N 223
N 176
2005 %
2006 %
2010 %
2011 %
2012 %
Rape
Spouse/Partner
3.7
7.0
4.4
3.6
2.3
Ex-spouse/Ex–partner
3.7
2.8
3.2
6.7
4.0
Boyfriend at the time
10.5
13.1
10.1
4.5
6.2
Ex-boyfriend
13.6
13.5
11.4
10.3
9.1
Relative
3.1
4.6
10.8
5.8
9.1
Close Friend
14.8
12.5
10.8
16.1
12.5
Work/school mate
8.0
9.0
8.2
9.9
7.4
Robbers/Criminals
4.3
2.5
13.3
9.4
8.5
Acquaintance
3.1
7.9
5.7
6.3
2.3
Someone in Authority (Boss, Teacher, Pastor, Imam, etc)
2.5
8.0
5.1
2.7
4.0
No Response
1.9
-
3.2
1.9
1.5
Remarkably, 51.3% of female rape victims in 2005; 53.1% in 2006; and 66% in 2010 reported that they knew offenders by both name and sight. Findings thus, confirm the general knowledge in victimization survey that most rape offenders are known to the victims as intimate partners, close relatives, or persons in positions of authority over victims.
Report of Personal Victimization
For each of the years studied, over half of the victims of crime in Nigeria simply report their experiences to members of their families and to friends while less than one in four victims report to the police. A significant percentage, 3.7% and 4.5% respectively in 2010 and 2011 reported to religious leaders and less than these (3.2% and 2.9%) reported to traditional leaders in the same period. Table 6 below however reveals significant change in the rate at which victims report crime to the police each year: from 16% in 2010 to 20.8% in 2011; and to 18.4% in 2012.
Table 6: Report of Experiences of Personal Victimization
Who Reported to
N 1790
N 3094
N 3899
N 3201
2005 %
2010 %
2011 %
2012 %
Family and Friends
-
56.1
63.6
56.5
Religious Leaders
-
3.7
4.5
4.4
Traditional Leaders
-
3.2
2.9
3.3
The Police
29.7
16.0
20.8
18.4
NGO/CBO/YSO
-
0.6
0.4
0.4
Percentage of respondents satisfied with how case was handled by the various agencies
Who various experiences of personal victimization were reported to is clearly a function of the level of satisfaction with how reported cases were handled by these agencies. Respondents expressed greater satisfaction from how cases were handled by non-formal agencies like family and friends (70.3% and 67.3%); religious leaders 80.1% and 77.3%) in 2011 and 2012 respectively; and with traditional leaders (67.9% and 66.7%) than with how the police handled their cases (47,7% and 46.4%). Apart from 2010 where “NGO/CBO/YSO” recorded only 20% satisfaction, the level of satisfaction recorded against the police was consistently lower than all the informal agencies for each year. The level of satisfaction with the various agencies is presented in table 7:
Table 7: Satisfaction with how case was handled by the various agencies
Institutions/Agencies
2005 %
2006 %
2010 %
2011 %
2012 %
Family and Friends
-
-
63.6
70.3
67.3
Religious Leaders
-
-
63.8
80.1
77.3
Traditional Leaders
-
-
62.3
67.9
66.7
The Police
41.6
40.4
37.8
47.7
46.4
NGO/CBO/YSO
-
-
20.0
57.1
66.7
Level of satisfaction with how the police handled reported cases of rape
Compared to other crimes, victims of GBV especially rape, are generally known to be very slow in reporting their experiences to law enforcement agencies for various reasons ranging from personal to social. Among the few who did, a larger proportion expressed dissatisfaction with how the police handled the case. Among the level of satisfaction over how the police handled female victims of rape generally increased from 33.3% in 2005 to 52.7% in 2006 and from 47.8% in 2010 to 58.8% in 2011 and 70.3% in 2012, the proportion of female rape victims not satisfied with how the police handled their cases however remains very high each year, the least being almost one in every three persons in 2012 as shown in table 8:
Table 8: Level of satisfaction with how the police handled reported cases of rape
Type of Violence
Level of Satisfaction
N 42
N 38
N 44
N 51
N 37
2005 %
2006 %
2010 %
2011 %
2012 %
Rape
Not satisfied
59.6
39.5
40.9
33.3
29.6
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
7.1
7.9
11.4
7.8
8.1
Satisfied
33.3
52.7
47.8
58.8
70.3
Most important reason for feeling dissatisfied with how the police handled rape cases
The most important reasons commonly cited by respondent rape victims for feeling dissatisfied with the police centres on police inefficiency like “police did not do enough to apprehend the offender” which recorded 42.9% in 2006 and 39.5% in 2005. Also, inadequate feedback from the police was another significant reason that points to police inefficiency. For instance as high as 19% in 2005 and 11.5% six years after in 2011, said they were dissatisfied with the police because “police did not keep me properly informed”. It is worthy of note that more than a quarter of the female victims of rape who reported to the police in 2012 (27.3%) reported that they were not treated with respect by the police. Another major problem was bribery and corruption: “police kept asking for money”. Although the percentage of this response dropped significantly from 35.7% in 2006 to 9.1% in 2012, it remained an important cause of dissatisfaction among most of the crime victims surveyed as captured in table 9:
Table 9: Most important reason for feeling dissatisfied with how the police handle rape cases
Reason
N 25
N 14
N 23
N 21
N 11
2005 %
2006 %
2010 %
2011 %
2012 %
Police did not do enough to apprehend the offender
39.5
42.9
31.1
26.3
9.1
Police kept asking me for money
19.1
35.7
14.7
12.2
9.1
Police did not treat me with respect
5.9
7.1
4.6
4.5
27.3
Police colluded/conspired with the offender
7.9
7.1
2.9
4.8
36.4
Police were slow to arrive
5.3
0.0
12.2
7.4
18.2
Police did not keep me properly informed
19.1
7.1
5.5
11.5
9.0
Other reasons
3.3
-
0.8
0.6
-
Reasons for not reporting cases of domestic and sexual violence to the police
More than one in every three (42.7%) female victim of rape in 2006 did not report their experiences to the police out of fear of being stigmatized. Although this percentage reduced to 29.5% in 2012, it remained the most important reason stated by respondents each year. Next to it is fear of disrespect and embarrassment by the police (31% in 2006 and 23.9% in 2005). This is closely followed by “police may not take the case seriously” which was as high as 30.3% in 2006, and 23.3% in 2011. Remarkably, respondents’ fear of police inability to apprehend the rapist increased from 10.9% in 2005 to 19.1% in 2006; and from 17.1% in 2010 to 21.1% in 2011. Fear of disrespect/embarrassment decreased from 23.9% in 2005 to 17.1% in 2010, it however, increased significantly to 19.3% in 2011 and then dropped to 16.5% in 2012. Increasing number of victims fail to report because they believe that the “Police may not take the case seriously” (from 15.2% in 2005 and 2010 respectively to 30.3% in 2006 and 23.3% in 2011). Results for each year are presented in table 10:
Table 10: Reasons for not reporting cases of rape to the police
Type of Violence
Reason
N 49
N 241
N 158
N 223
N 139
2005%
2006 %
2010 %
2011 %
2012 %
Rape
Scared of being stigmatized
4.1
42.7
29.7
21.1
29.5
Police may not apprehend the rapist
12.2
19.1
17.1
21.1
13.7
Fear of disrespect /embarrassment by the police
26.5
31.1
17.1
19.3
16.5
Police may not take the case seriously
46.9
30.3
15.2
23.3
18.0
Police case is too time consuming
-
22.9
12.0
17.5
11.5
I have no money to give to the police
-
-
19.0
14.3
9.4
Other reasons
10.2
22.9
3.8
-
0.7
Level of fear of becoming a victim of rape and of domestic violence
Questions on the level of fear of becoming victims of sexual and domestic violence revealed that except for 2010-2012 when the rate of those who were “very fearful” of being victims of domestic violence dropped from 27% to 23.7% in 2011 and subsequently to 22.9% in 2012, each successive year recorded increase in the number of Nigerians who expressed any kind of fear (“fearful” and “very fearful”) of being victims of rape and domestic violence. This is more so in the face of the high level of terrorist activities including sexual violence against young women and under-aged girls especially in northern Nigeria. The level of fear is shown in table 11:
Table 11: Fear of becoming a victim of rape and of domestic violence
Type of violence
Level of Fear
N11518
N11518
N 11518
2010
2011
2012
Rape
Not fearful
29.1
24.7
24.6
A little fearful
12.1
13.0
17.8
Fearful
24.1
26.7
25.7
Very fearful
32.6
33.9
29.9
Domestic Violence
Not fearful
21.6
22.7
21.8
A little fearful
19.6
20.4
23.1
Fearful
30.8
31.9
30.4
Very fearful
27.0
23.7
22.9
Prevalence of rape in respondents’ neighbourhood
In spite of the high level of fear recorded among respondents which seems to inform their perception on the prevalence of rape in the neighbourhood (see table 12), their perception and the actual experience of victimization reported (see table 14) reveal some incongruence. Asked about how prevalent rape was in their communities, 68.3% and 53.6% of all respondents in 2010 and 2011 respectively perceived rape as non-existent in their communities; 27.9% and 32.7% in 2010 and 2012 said there were isolated and occasional cases of rape; 8.2% said rape was widespread but only happened occasionally, while only 1.6% said it happened all the time in their neighbourhood in 2012:
Table 12: Prevalence of rape in their neighbourhood
Prevalence
N 11518
N 11518
N 11518
2010 (%)
2011 (%)
2012 (%)
Rape is completely non-existent
68.3
53.6
48.2
Occasional (only very few isolated cases)
27.9
27.1
32.7
Widespread (but not all the time)
6.5
7.2
8.2
Widespread (happens all the time)
1.8
1.6
1.6
Don’t know
-
10.5
-
Why women are raped
Various social and psychological reasons were proffered by respondents in response to the question on why women are raped. The major reasons given between 2010 and 2012 for instance ranged from provocative dressing by women (78.6% in 2010; 75.6% in 2011; and 22.6% in 2012) to men’s lack of self control (47.8% in 2010 and 54.2% in 2012); to the influence of hard drugs and alcohol (38.9% in 2010 and 42.6% in 2012); insanity in men (27.3% in 2010; 30.1% in 2012); influence of media presentations (26.4% in 2011; 28.8% in 2012); and the influence of friends which increased from 0.1% in 2010 and 2011 to 1.1% in 2012. This can serve as an indicator to the significant proportion of female victims that are reportedly gang-raped in Nigerian cities. Results for 2005 and 2006 for instance, revealed that 23% and 12.3% of victims were raped by 2 and 3 persons respectively in 2005; and 14% and 11.6% respectively in 2006. Respondents’ responses on why women are raped are shown in table 13:
Table 13: Why women are raped
Reasons
N 11518
N 11518
N 11518
2010 %
2011 %
2012%
Provocative dressing by women
78.6
75.6
22.6
Influence of media presentations
19.7
26.4
28.8
Lack of self control on the part of men
47.8
53.4
54.2
Mental illness of men (insanity)
27.3
25.1
30.1
Influence of alcohol and hard drugs
38.9
35.6
42.6
Influence of friends
0.1
0.1
1.1
The most common type of crime in the neighbourhoods
Tritely, gender based violent crimes like sexual and domestic violence are not generally perceived as crimes because of their intimate nature. They are therefore underreported for personal, social and cultural reasons among others. Yet, domestic violence ranked third among the crimes perceived as most common in respondents’ neighbourhoods in 2006 and 2011; second in 2010; and fourth in 2005 and 2012 respectively. On the contrary, sexual assault and rape ranked seventh out of eleven in 2005 and 2006; and ninth in the subsequent years (2010 to 2012). Thus, sexual assault and rape were perceived as less common as kidnapping and murder from 2010 to 2012. Theft of property retained the highest rank in 2005, 2006 and 2011. This was closely followed by robbery and thereafter, house breaking as well as theft of mobile phones.
Table 14: The most common type of crime in neighbourhoods
Type of Crime
N 10036
N 11161
N 11518
N 11518
N 11518
2005 %
2006 %
2010 %
2011 %
2012 %
Theft of Property
21.7
17.7
0.5
21.7
0.1
Robbery
19.6
17.0
15.4
15.7
14.4
Domestic Violence
6.1
7.1
14.0
9.1
10.6
Sexual Assault/Rape
1.6
1.2
0.7
1.1
0.6
Theft of Money
-
-
6.5
3.6
7.7
Theft of Motor Vehicle
1.4
-
2.5
3.5
3.4
Assault
5.0
6.9
4.0
6.1
4.3
House Breaking
6.2
6.3
11.6
6.8
10.9
Murder
3.3
1.3
1.1
2.8
0.0
Theft of Mobile Phones
-
-
12.5
0.5
16.6
Kidnapping
1.2
1.2
2.4
-
2.2
Some selected most recent personal criminal victimization
Despite the very high level (not less than half of the total number of respondents each year as shown in table 11), of fear of becoming victims of crime especially of rape and domestic violence; and the perception of the high prevalence of these crimes (table 14); a far less proportion of respondents reported being actual victims of domestic and sexual violence. In other words, results on fear and actual victimization confirms the general knowledge in victimization surveys about the frequent disparity in the level of fear of becoming victims of crime and the actual experience of victimization. Compared to other crimes like theft of mobile phones (35.7% in 2010; 24.2% in 2012), theft of money (23.2% in 2011), and robbery (17.9% in 2005; 12.8% in 2012), those who reported being victims of rape, attempted rape and domestic violence were far less for each year as illustrated in table 15 below. However, the level of damage involved and the proportion of respondents (1 in every 10 on the average) who reported being victims of domestic violence every year in Nigeria call for urgent attention.
Table 15: Selected last personal criminal victimization
Type of Crime
N 2162
N 3094
N3899
N3201
2005 %
2010 %
2011 %
2012 %
Theft of money
8.1
23.2
11.8
11.5
Robbery
17.9
6.6
12.5
12.8
Attempted Robbery
7.3
2.7
4.0
3.6
Physical Assault
9.8
7.2
19.7
13.1
Rape and Attempted Rape
8.2
0.9
2.4
2.1
Domestic Violence
10.2
8.1
9.9
11.2
Theft of Mobile Phones
9.5
35.7
23.8
24.2
Summary of Major Findings
The major findings from the analysis in this chapter are as follows:
- Domestic Violence is among the first five crimes in Nigeria.
- Domestic violence victimization is more reported than sexual violence victimization.
- Incidents of personal victimization for attempted rape are more commonly reported by female victims than actual rape.
- Rape victimization of household members was more widely mentioned by respondents than personal victimization.
- Increasing number of persons are becoming victims of forced same sex in Nigeria.
- In general, more than half of sexual and domestic violence against women occur within home environment.
- A significant proportion of sexual violence occurs at school and work environment.
- Over half of rape crimes are committed by past and current intimate partners; close relatives; work and school mates.
- A significant percentage of women suffer rape victimization from men in authority over them (bosses, teachers, pastors, imams, etc) and from male criminals and robbers.
- More than half of the cases of sexual and domestic violence are reported annually to such informal agents as family and friends, religious and traditional leaders.
- Less than a quarter of cases of sexual and domestic violence are reported to the police.
- Over 60% of those who reported cases of victimization to informal agents were satisfied with how their cases were handled.
- An increasing proportion of rape victims expressed satisfaction with how the police handled their cases.
- The most important reasons given by those who felt dissatisfied centres on police inefficiency, corruption, and lack of professionalism.
- More than a quarter of female victims of rape do not report their experience to the police for fear of being stigmatised.
- Over 60% of respondents expressed fear of becoming victims of domestic and sexual violence, yet about 10% reported actual personal victimization for domestic and sexual violence.
Discussion of Major Findings
Findings showed that domestic violence victimization consistently ranked high among other crimes. Although most respondents found it easier to report domestic than sexual violence victimization in general, the rate of female victimization for sexual violence is equally worrisome. Despite the increasing reports of cases of rape, female child defilement, and other sexual violence in the mass media, female respondents found it easier to discuss rape victimization of some other persons than their personal experience of victimization. They would rather report attempted rape and forced same sex, or even report personal victimization that occurred “elsewhere” in order to avoid being stigmatized. Furthermore, it is sometimes quite difficult to make a clear distinction between domestic and sexual violence between spouses for three main reasons: (a) a woman’s refusal to accede to her male partner’s sexual advances is enough reason for him to “correct” her by physically assaulting her (Orisaremi & Alubo, 2012); (b) marital rape is neither recognized by existing culture or laws in Nigeria (Nigeria NGO Coalition Report 2008; Daudu, 2007); (c) the term “sexual violence” does not exist in most Nigerian languages and the way it is expressed places the blame on the woman. It is therefore safer for the woman to suffer in silence or to use words that simply suggest violence without any qualifications.
All these are clearly related to the subsisting patriarchal structures, gendered socialization and cultural practices (Rakoczy, 2004; Hayes, 2007) that bestow sexual rights over the female partner on the male spouse (Baynard, 2010; Aina 2003; Orisaremi, 2012). Findings equally confirms other empirical and theoretical studies that underscore the importance of culture both in the susceptibility of women to sexual violence and in the perception that marital rape is non-existent. A situation which discourages female victims from freely seeking help or redress (Rao, 1995; Daudu, 2007; Orisaremi & Alubo, 2012; British Council, 2013). It is time that Nigeria and Nigerians re-examine the hazard of the existing multiple laws as rightly observed by the Nigeria NGO Coalition (2008) and the British Council (2013).
A major obstacle to development is insecurity and fear of violence. Results revealed that far from being limited to residential environment, a significant proportion of Nigerian citizens, especially women are exposed to sexual, domestic and other forms of violence within the home environment, at work, and at school. The perpetrators also include school and work mates as well as authority figures at work, school and even spiritual leaders especially in this era of boko haram and charlatanism in religious circles characterized by killings and all kinds of sexual abuses including abduction of young females for sexual purposes. All tiers of government must be seen to be proactive in their effort to guarantee the security of vulnerable citizens anywhere they are within Nigeria.
Also, the very low professionalism and efficiency on the part of the police particularly in handling cases of rape can indirectly encourage men to perpetuate sexual crimes against women. Indeed even individual members of the police force are known to rape women and minors whom they are meant to protect. It is common knowledge that women are easy prey for men’s sexual exploits in most war situations globally. Unprofessional conduct equally discourages female victims from reporting these crimes and inability to report criminal victimization to the police implies lack of access to justice (British Council, 2013).
Policy Recommendations
· Government and all other stakeholders should proactively engage in creating an enabling social environment that will encourage girls/women’s access to education and economic opportunities as part of addressing women’s powerlessness and vulnerability to gender based crimes.
- The on-going review of the 1999 Constitutions by the legislators should pay special attention to sections that relate to violent crimes and gender with a view to bridging the gender gaps (especially in terms of gender specific crimes) and reflecting the principles of gender equality.
- Governmental agencies (like the National Orientation Agency), the civil society organisations, and other relevant bodies should actively provide leadership in the reorientation of the general public on the dangers of domestic and sexual violence.
- There is an urgent need for the domestication of all related treaties, instruments and framework relevant to putting an end to impunity currently enjoyed by the perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence.
- The Ministry for Police Affairs and other key stakeholders need to ensure police efficiency and professionalism as this will help to minimize discrimination, stigmatization, and impunity particularly of male perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence.
- The law enforcement and the criminal justice agencies should train and retrain their personnel to appreciate the importance of treating victims of all crimes with respect and without discrimination.
- Government at all tiers should put in place adequate machinery for carrying out a thorough investigation of the crime, prosecuting offenders and protecting victims and survivors from reprisal.
- NGOs and other civil society organizations should mobilize and challenge state impunity for offenders at national and local levels.
- Families and schools should be encouraged by the government to sensitize girls and boys on early warning signs from close male friends and relatives so as to take precaution and avoid victimization.
Conclusion
Our analysis in this chapter depicts not only the extent, trend and pattern of domestic and sexual violence in Nigeria in 2005-2006 and from 2010-2012, it equally portrays the actual experience of victimization of these crimes, the perception of victims towards the police, a formal law enforcement agency, and the non-formal agencies like family and friends, religious and traditional leaders, among others. Results reveal a significant level of prevalence of the crimes especially of domestic violence and a high level of fear of victimization to both crimes despite their perceived personal nature. It is therefore imperative that relevant government agencies give more attention to protecting and promoting the rights of each citizen especially females by giving adequate training to the police and other law enforcement agencies that are meant to be the victims’ haven and first port of call.
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