Abstract
Introduction
“As the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25 each year, the general fear in Nigeria is that domestic violence, especially against women, is on the increase, without any remedy. Co-incidentally, poverty has not really abated among the majority of citizens, despite official statistics to the contrary.â€
“Violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women...â€
Globally, the human rights of girls and women are persistently neglected and ultimately denied through domestic violence.
Domestic violence is a “major contributor to physical and mental ill health of women and is evident, to some degree, in every society in the world. The World Health Organization reports that globally 29% to 62% of women have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partnerâ€.
Physical violence is the intentional use of physical force with the potential for causing death, disability, injury or harm. Physical violence includes but it is not limited to, “scratching, pushing, shoving and thro-wing, grabbing, biting, choking, shaking, slapping, punching, burning, use of a weapon and use of restraints or ones’ body size, or strength against another personâ€.
