Nigeria's Unheard Voices: Widespread Violence Against Women In The Family
"The day my daddy called me a prostitute, I decided to leave… he just said if I leave the house all his problems would be solved. I left that day.”
This 14-year-old girl had been molested and verbally abused by her father for months. The day she left the house, she was raped by a stranger after hours of wandering in Lagos. When she returned home later, a friend of her father who was staying at the house also raped her.
When Amnesty International (AI) met her in November 2004, she was six months pregnant and living in a shelter for abused women. She told AI she wants to go back to school.
Violence against women in the family in Nigeria is widespread and multifaceted. Violence can be physical, psychological and economic. Husbands, partners and fathers are responsible for most of the violence, and in some cases, employers of domestic workers; women in the extended family are also often complicit.
Violence against women is not addressed and treated with the seriousness that the issue requires. One human rights defender told AI: "My cousin is beaten up by her husband every second because he suspects her of having an affair. My cousin has told me to stay away and not report the case to the police although he almost killed her once. She thinks her husband’s extended family supports him and will exonerate him if she reports it."
There are no laws specifically criminalizing violence in the family, either at the federal or state level. Victims of such violence can only bring charges of common assault. The police often dismiss these cases as "a family issue" and tell the parties to "go home and settle the problems".
Every day women are subjected to physical violence in Nigeria. They are hit, raped and even murdered by members of their family. However, the lack of official statistics on gender-based violence makes it almost impossible to estimate the extent of the problem. Patricia Azuka Ani, from Lagos, died in December 2000 from her injuries after her husband beat her and threw her from the first floor of their house. He was never brought to justice and remains a free man.
Under international human rights law, states must ensure women's rights to equality, life, liberty and security, as well as freedom from discrimination, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment. They must provide women with redress and reparation when these rights are abused. AI considers that the Nigerian federal government has done nothing to protect victims of violence in the family, including failing to reform laws that discriminate against women.
However, in Lagos State, a draft bill on domestic violence is currently before the House of Assembly, and, if enacted, would be the first state-level legislation on violence in the family, including criminal and civil remedies. This would be a step in the right direction and would set an inspiring example for the rest of the country. Nigeria must ensure that women's voices are heard.
AI will shortly be issuing a report, Nigeria: Unheard voices (AFR 44/004/2005), on violence in the family in Lagos State, as part of its campaign to stop violence against women in Nigeria.
This 14-year-old girl had been molested and verbally abused by her father for months. The day she left the house, she was raped by a stranger after hours of wandering in Lagos. When she returned home later, a friend of her father who was staying at the house also raped her.
When Amnesty International (AI) met her in November 2004, she was six months pregnant and living in a shelter for abused women. She told AI she wants to go back to school.
Violence against women in the family in Nigeria is widespread and multifaceted. Violence can be physical, psychological and economic. Husbands, partners and fathers are responsible for most of the violence, and in some cases, employers of domestic workers; women in the extended family are also often complicit.
Violence against women is not addressed and treated with the seriousness that the issue requires. One human rights defender told AI: "My cousin is beaten up by her husband every second because he suspects her of having an affair. My cousin has told me to stay away and not report the case to the police although he almost killed her once. She thinks her husband’s extended family supports him and will exonerate him if she reports it."
There are no laws specifically criminalizing violence in the family, either at the federal or state level. Victims of such violence can only bring charges of common assault. The police often dismiss these cases as "a family issue" and tell the parties to "go home and settle the problems".
Every day women are subjected to physical violence in Nigeria. They are hit, raped and even murdered by members of their family. However, the lack of official statistics on gender-based violence makes it almost impossible to estimate the extent of the problem. Patricia Azuka Ani, from Lagos, died in December 2000 from her injuries after her husband beat her and threw her from the first floor of their house. He was never brought to justice and remains a free man.
Under international human rights law, states must ensure women's rights to equality, life, liberty and security, as well as freedom from discrimination, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment. They must provide women with redress and reparation when these rights are abused. AI considers that the Nigerian federal government has done nothing to protect victims of violence in the family, including failing to reform laws that discriminate against women.
However, in Lagos State, a draft bill on domestic violence is currently before the House of Assembly, and, if enacted, would be the first state-level legislation on violence in the family, including criminal and civil remedies. This would be a step in the right direction and would set an inspiring example for the rest of the country. Nigeria must ensure that women's voices are heard.
AI will shortly be issuing a report, Nigeria: Unheard voices (AFR 44/004/2005), on violence in the family in Lagos State, as part of its campaign to stop violence against women in Nigeria.
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