Domestic Violence Against Men in the Nabdam District of Ghana

Abstract

The Domestic Violence Act, 2007 (Act 732) of Ghana was a conscious legal response by the state to provide protection for persons in a domestic setting against violence and also to promote human dignity in accordance with provisions of the 1992 Constitution and international acceptable norms and practices. This work explored the phenomenon of men as victims of domestic violence in the Nabdam District of Ghana. It was a case study located within the qualitative research paradigm using the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region. The snowball method was used to select ten men from the Nabdam area who were victims of domestic violence and six women aggressors. The lottery method was
used to select opinion leaders and pastors to form part of the participant for the study. The instrument of interview was used to gather data from the participants on the prevalence, nature and causes of domestic violence against men in the Nabdam district, as well as the responses of men to the violence. It was discovered through the study that men were victims of domestic violence in the Nabdam area. Some of the violence experienced by men in the Nabdam area within the domestic setting included beating, pouring of hot water on them, denial of food and been locked out of home. Suspicions, visits of relatives and friends, and phones calls were some of the causes of the violence and the main response to domestic violence by men especially to those perpetuated by their spouses was to keep quiet and suffer in silence. It was therefore, recommended that public education and information on domestic violence be de-gendered.