Violence in the Family: A Preliminary Investigation and Overview of Wife Battering in Africa

This paper examines wife battering in Africa although it is a world-wide phenomenon. Due to the hidden nature of the problem accurate statistics on it are hard to come by. In many parts of Africa, wife battering is accepted as a part of the culture. This is reinforced by the sex role socialization of women, which encourages and emphasizes submissiveness. The victims of wife battering don’t always leave the abusive environment because of lack of family and community support. Divorce is not always a viable alternative due to the stigma attached to it. Wife battering must be discouraged through legislation, general education and economic empowerment of women