Domestic violence, public health challenge – Psychiatrist

Domestic violence, public health challenge – Psychiatrist
By Felicia Imohimi
Challenge
Abuja, May 27, 2018 (NAN) Dr Christopher Piwuna, a Consultant Psychiatrist, University of Jos Teaching Hospital (JUTH), says domestic violence is a public health challenge and an infringement on individual right.
Piwuna told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja that domestic violence was an “Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)’’.
He emphasised that curtailing the menace would require the concerted efforts of individuals, families, communities and government in general.
The consultant attributed the growing rate of domestic violence to failed or dysfunctional families and marriages, divorce, substance abuse and weak legal system, among others.
He explained that any individual or person that emerged from failed homes have the tendency of been violent when he or she eventually got married.
Piwuna urged Nigerians to channel efforts toward preventive measures, warning that any life lost through such violence cannot be restored.
According to him, individuals will be able to detect if their friends and colleagues have such tendency through their discussion and immediately should prevail on such person.
Piwuna however noted that perpetrators of IPV may not have the tendency of killing their partner but intended to threaten which later resulted to death.
“The way out of this menace is for the individual, family, communities and government to work toward a non-threatening, harmonious, interpersonal relationship because it usually occurs due to breakdown in relationships.
“This can as well occur as a result of temperament. It is a public health challenge. Government, individuals, communities, families need to rise up to their responsibilities.
“The treatment for this kind of problem is preventive because when a woman stab the husband and he eventually dies you cannot bring him back in form of treatment.
“The best thing for us is to prevent it from happening at the individual level,” the expert suggested.
Piwuna, who frowned at society norms whereby a woman would be advised to return to her matrimonial home after been beaten up and wounded, said there was every tendency of getting the worst when she goes back.
He also described domestic violence as an infringement on the right of individual and urged law enforcement agencies to treat as such rather than viewing it as a family or community affairs.
“Our law enforcement agencies must begin to see this as an infringement on the right of individuals.
“Police must know their rights in this regard and take action when necessary than to allow this menace to linger,’’ Piwuna said.
Meanwhile, a cleric, Evangelist Milling Chukwumaeze has attributed the spate of domestic violence to joblessness and poverty.
He urged governments to make jobs available for citizen in order to curb the prevalence of violence, restiveness and manslaughter, among other, vices in the country.
Chukwumaeze of the Church of Christ, Karu Site, FCT, told NAN in Abuja that unemployment rate was a contributing factor to spousal violence and killings.
He explained that morally or biblically it was the responsibility of men to provide for both their wives and children, adding that due to the inability of some men to secure good jobs such responsibilities now fall on most women in the society.
According to him, women can condescend so low and pick up any job by way of frying of akara, menial jobs and hawking sachet water, to make ends meet.
He noted that men, because of empty pride, could not do such jobs and would rather prefer white collar jobs in order to adequately meet their family needs, but in the absence of that they remained or stay idle.
“There should be constant public enlightenment and governments should sit up to meet their responsibilities for the citizenry because majority of this incidence result from anger, when people are not meeting up with their responsibilities.
“Governments should rise up to their responsibilities to generate jobs, create empowerment opportunities everywhere so that people who are not Degree holders to work in offices can also be empowered to engage in private businesses or jobs.
“They should as well make the society friendly because there is a lot of hardship in the country and government is not doing enough to educating citizens on measures to overcome such challenges.
“The National Orientation Agency (NOA) which is saddled with public enlightenment responsibility is not adequately carrying out such mandates,” he lamented.
Chukwumaeze however said that women, been the breadwinner of their homes, does not give them the leverage to derogate their spouses to the extent of killing them.
According to him, the bottom line of majority of this incidence revolves round the man not meeting up his responsibility of providing for his family or cheating on her wife.
He identified other factors as peer pressure or societal influence, women claiming headship of homes, unbiblical or money drive messages by some religious leaders, family pressure and lack of fear of God, among others.
Chukwumaeze however admonished women to submit themselves to their husbands as commanded in the Bible
irrespective of their role in the family, assuring that everything will turn out for good at the appointed time.
He frowned at women derogating their husbands because of their financial capacity, recalling that the situation was different in the 50s, 60s and 70s, respectively, no matter the wealth of the woman.
The cleric said, before now when a woman is rich she puts the husband at the forefront and make people believe that the man is in charge, but considering the happenings in the world today most women tend to show up.
He also acknowledged that violence often times ensue when men wanted to claim headship of the family.
“Whatever we do we should always remember the instruction given by God which says women submit yourselves to your husbands no matter the condition.
“No matter the condition a man is, it is the will of God for a woman to submit, respect, honour and reverend him.
“It is not all about money because we all have responsibilities given to us by God and at the last day when we depart this world we will give account.
“So, if a housewife is derogating the husband for whatever reasons that woman is not fulfilling the will of God for her.
“The Book of Proverb, Chapter 14 Verse 1 says: A good woman builds her house but a bad woman pulls it down by her own hands,’’ he said.
Chukwumaeze, who condemned some religious leaders that have turned their churches to money making or money doubling ventures, however said that due to such drive people were no longer getting the biblical truth as they ought to.
He therefore urged religious leaders to rise up as the right ambassadors of God to tell the people the truth in order to get the right orientation they were unable to get from government from religious organisations.
“Prayer is the key. So we should be prayerful because God can do all things; He can turn things around and make them better for us than burdening ourselves on what we do not have control over,’’ said the priest. (NAN)
FUA/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola