NATURE AND PREVALENCE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST MEN IN DALA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KANO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, friends or cohabitation. Domestic violence has largely focused on women as victims and men as perpetrators. Domestic violence against men tend to go unrecognized since men are less likely to admit to or report such incidence because of embarrassment and fear of ridicule. The present study examines the nature and prevalence of domestic violence perpetrated against men by women in Dala Local Government Area of Kano State, Nigeria, through specifically identifying the forms of abuse experienced and examining their responses to the abuse perpetrated by women at home. A total of 120 male victims of domestic violence were sampled using multi-staged, purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The data were collected using questionnaire and in-depth interviews; and were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social sciences and content analysis. The findings of the study revealed that domestic violence against men manifests in various forms, namely verbal, physical, psychological, sexual, emotional and economic abuse. The results indicate that men of ages between 25 and 34 years are physically abused more than any other age group. The study recommends greater advocacy to enlighten the public about the existence and reality of the evil of domestic violence and effective legislation to curb domestic violence against men.