There was, understandably, significant consternation expressed over a recent article published in this newspaper on the results of the Guyana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Round 5 (MICSR5), particularly the findings regarding physical violence. It was definitely disconcerting to read that in 2016, there are women who still believe that physical abuse at the hands of one’s spouse or partner can be justified depending on the circumstances. Zero tolerance for gender-based violence is certainly not as widespread among women as one might have hoped.
It was equally distressing to receive confirmation via the same survey that a similar number of men—the article pegged the figure at ten per cent—agree that the physical abuse of women is acceptable in instances where she displeases her spouse, since this, obviously, raises the odds of women being subjected to beatings.
And while this unfortunate state of affairs is not confined to Guyana, it is noticeably more prevalent in developing countries. According to a World Values Survey (WVS) conducted between 2010 and 2014 in 29 countries around the world, a third or more men find it acceptable for a husband to beat his wife, while in 19 countries, a third of women feel the same. The WVS found the highest number of women with this belief system in Rwanda, where 96 per cent of women said beatings can be justified. The next highest, two-thirds, were found in India and South Africa. Meanwhile, since the societal acceptance of spousal abuse is cultural, migration has meant that in the US for instance, one in ten women believe it is okay; in some European countries that number is one in five.
In the Guyana MICSR5, specific reasons given for wife beatings being justified were: if the woman leaves the house without her husband’s permission; if she refuses to have sex with him; if she argues with him or if she burns the food. The WVS mentioned two reasons: leaving the house without the husband’s permission or arguing back.
If these reasons seem wildly irrational, it’s because they are. It is preposterous that in the 21st century women, who more often than not are equal contributors to their households, are seen as so unequal that some believe they should ask permission to go out. Furthermore, a woman who cannot refuse to have sex with her spouse could be at the risk of contracting serious and deadly diseases if her spouse is unfaithful. Meantime, just the thought of any person not arguing back is absurd; it isn’t even an argument if one person is afraid to speak.
However, unfortunately, the reasons abusers batter their wives are far more sinister. They rarely, if ever, require any provocation to lash out. They hit out because they are inherently violent and angry, and beating their spouses is how they release that pent up anger. They hit out as a means of control. They have insecurities and feel the need to constantly remind their spouses who is the boss. They are substance abusers, who hit out while under the influence. They are jealous, possessive and competitive and lash out if their spouses dare to shine or somehow show them up. They have lived all their lives in the sad reality that violence is a means of settling any sort of argument or dispute.
What is even sadder is the fact that these negative values are passed on to their children. Their sons and daughters accept the abuse they received at their fathers and mothers’ hands and mete out the same to their spouses and children, unless they are somehow saved by means of a social intervention. It is for this reason that there can never be enough awareness of and sensitivity to violence against women and children. However repetitious it may seem, the message that violence of any kind against anyone is never justified, must continue to be a constant.
