NCJ Number
241767
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: January/february 2013 Pages: 101-112
Date Published
February 2013
Length
12 pages
Annotation
After examining the magnitude, nature, and risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) in five African countries, this article considers opportunities in each country that could assist in the prevention of IPV, as well as barriers to such efforts.
Abstract
The five African countries included in the study are Morocco, Nigeria, Namibia, Uganda, and Tanzania. The paper begins with a discussion of IPV from a general perspective, with attention to the theories that explain IPV's occurrence. It then addresses IPV issues in Africa before examining IPV in the context of each of the countries. Subsequently, the study provides a detailed analysis of the violence in each country. The analysis uses the available theories in explaining sociodemographic variables related to IPV, such as education, employment, access to mass media, reproductive health, and the sociocultural context of gender. The article then discusses the opportunities that could assist the countries in preventing or mitigating the prevalence and impact of IPV in Africa, as well as the challenges that exist in different African countries that could impede efforts to counter the prevalence of IPV. The article concludes with recommendations designed involve relevant stakeholders in efforts to counter IPV. These efforts should include the passage of laws that criminalize IPV against women, the provision of social support for abused women, the medical communities targeting of IPV, and media awareness campaigns that could assist in changing social and cultural norms that view IPV as acceptable behavior. 59 references