1.3 Problem statement
Violence is an undeniable world plague and domestic violence
is part of it. To Walby and Allen (2006:139), domestic abuse affects many
households across all societies; it deprives the people of all ages, both
genders and all social statuses of their human rights. Congruent with Krug et
al. (2002), domestic violence is severe because it is one of the most
underreported crimes worldwide. In particular, women, children and relatives in
the home witness domestic violence because of their dependence on the household
leader, who is usually a man (Tjaden et al., 2000:47). Domestic violence is a
danger for household members. It is fostered by cultural values and norms
differences, which are the primary factors male abusers use. Based on the
magnitude of domestic abuse, its consequences are critical to the victim, the
abuser, the family and the nation.
We find that in some developed countries, the situation
remains extremely disheartening. Accordingly, Olson and DeFrain (2000:42) note
that, in homes of the United States of America (USA), more than 6 million women
are abused by their partners annually. Burton (2004:67) and Er Turk (2007:23)
also ascertain that in the USA, a husband or a partner physically assaults a
woman or a girl every nine seconds. All the above writers conclude that 95% of
domestic violence victims are women and children who are exposed to violence by
family members living in the same house with the victim.
In the developing world, domestic violence is also a very
common practice and has even been considered as a cultural norm. Consequently,
its prevalence in the homes proves very high. As an illustration, in Kenya,
India and Bangladesh, the documented prevalence of domestic abuse committed by
male partners towards women ranges between 46% and 72% (Olson and De Frain,
2000:78).
In the DRC, the frequency is not encouraging either. We learn
that almost 60.7% of the reported domestic violence is committed against women
and children by the male heads of family (Hatari, 1999:14). In addition, there
exist many other similar cases that are never reported and they are higher in
rural areas compared to urban ones. The Congolese Females Action for Promoting
Rights and Development reveals that this situation remains very alarming in
remote villages where most population, particularly women and girls are
uneducated (COFAPRI, 2010). This is supported by Humphreys and Thiara (2002:33)
as they ascertain that in most African villages, men make the law as they are
the customs-makers and protectors and the women have nothing to do but to obey,
even blindly, what the man has said.
Considering this high occurrence of domestic assault in the
world, and particularly in the DRC, one wonders if the abusers are aware of the
social destruction this odious and shameful practice causes the victims,
families and the nation. Therefore, this research intends to discover the
beliefs and attitudes towards males domestic violence in South Kivu,
particularly abuse directed against women.
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