Osinachi’s Death: Reflections on Gender-Based Violence

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SERIOUS MATTERS BY OLAWALE FAPOHUNDA, SAN 08033142501 SMS ONLY

Introduction

 The Attorney-General was not there when I married my wife. I do not know why he is concerned about how I treat her. I am offended that he is comparing the misunderstanding with my wife, with Osinachi’s matter. Is he calling me a murderer? I do not know how a few harmless slaps, could be equated with murder.’

– Petition from a Wifebeater (name withheld) against the Attorney-General, Ekiti State

Aspiring Wifebeaters in the Dock

This complaint exemplifies the many push-backs my office gets on a daily basis, in the course of our interventions on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) matters. This is in Ekiti State, where we have by far the most stringent laws and policies against all forms of Gender-Based Violence. Where the fear of appearing in ‘the court’ of wife of the Governor, is the beginning of wisdom for aspiring wifebeaters. This is Ekiti State, where men will prostate and beg their wives not to report their violent behaviour to the office of the wife of the Governor. No wifebeater appears before that court, and comes out the same.  Yet, Ekiti State, like other States in the Federation, continue to struggle with horrific cases of GBV.

Poverty and GBV

A lot has been said, about poverty being a major cause of violence against women in Nigeria. Poverty is multi-layered and complex making it hard to even truly define the term, let alone how it overtly impacts our communities, and gender- based violence. It gets even more complicated, when one takes into consideration the diversity found in a country like Nigeria. I have seen firsthand how poverty greatly impacts the ability of women to leave violent, abusive and unsafe living situations. Many of the women fleeing violent situations and who seek help from my office, face impossible choices. For example, escaping the situation at home might mean choosing homelessness, hunger, and unsafe living conditions for themselves and their children. 

GBV or Perversion?

I must add, that I have been shocked at the crudity and ferociousness of some of the cases my office deals with. What has poverty got to do with the Bank Manager who insists that his wife allows anal sex, and breaks all her ribs when she refuses? What about the Lecturer who in the middle of a three-year marriage suddenly realises that he cannot have an erection without help, and decides that the solution to his problem is to bring men into his matrimonial home to rape his wife while he watches, in a bid to get it up.  When she objects, he beats her black and blue. How about the Professor, who on every misunderstanding, takes delight in asking his senior civil servant wife to kneel down naked  while flogging her with his belt. Oh! how can I forget the matter of the popular man about town who insists that his seven-month pregnant wife performs oral sex on him, and when she refuses, in a moment of rage, turns her stomach into a punching bag.

Women’s Lives Don’t Matter

In a previous writeup on this page titled ‘Nigeria is at War with her Women’, I argued that the main reason why we seem to have this mindless violence against women and girls, is simply because of our inability or unwillingness as a country to make their status an important agenda item on our development plan. I referenced the rejection of the several women empowerment bills in the National Assembly, as a case in point. I said that the result of this deprioritisation of women, is an official affirmation of cultural norms that consider it acceptable for men to subject women to acts of violence.  In very stark terms,  Government and the Governed are united in waving the ‘lives of our women don’t matter’ flag. We need look no further than the aggregate of public opinion, in the aftermath of the death of Osinachi Nwachukwu.  Expectedly, there were lots of commentaries. Some enlightening, but, regrettably, most were thoughtless. By far the most thoughtless, were those who placed the cause of death squarely at the doorstep of the victim.

Prevalence of Revictimisation

The revictimisation of victims of GBV is, in my considered view, one of the main reasons why we seem to be making slow progress in articulating a coherent response to GBV. We almost always seem to question the victim. In cases of sexual violence/assault, we want to know what the victim was wearing, why was she at the place where the violence occurred? Some even go to the absurd length of questioning whether the victim was a virgin, at the time she was raped. These queries fall flat when put side by side with the rape of three month old babies, or 80 year old grandparents. Curiously when we can’t find any rational argument, we rush back to primordial times and blame ritualists.

In matters of domestic violence, women are still being considered guilty of attracting violence against themselves through their behaviour. It has to be the woman. Why did she not pack her bags and run? What did she say to the man, that evoked such madness?  It is important to stress, and one must not get tired of saying it, that the main cause of any form of GBV is the perpetrator, his or herself. It is very important to keep in mind that a person who is a victim of GBV, is never responsible for the perpetrator’s actions.

How did we get here?

One question that has repeatedly dominated many discussions groups  since the Osinachi story broke is, how did we get here? I do not believe that we just got here. In my view, we have always been here. What has changed and continues to evolve is the multiple publicity platforms that now exist, which makes it possible to share information on a national scale. To be sure, there is no single factor that can explain GBV in our communities.

Sitting in my office in Ado Ekiti, I can see a myriad of contributory factors. Indeed, the interplay of these factors lies at the root of the problem. In addition to poverty in its various ramifications, there are other factors. Yes, our cultural practices. Across all our communities, patriarchal and sexist views legitimise violence against women. None of our  communities are immune from this. North, West, East and South and in between, we are all the same. United by our strong belief in gender stereotypes and prejudice. Our religions have also provided support in the affirmation of male authority, in both public and private spheres. Our religions preach entitlement and ownership of women. This, in turn, affirms a culture of general acceptance of violence.

Fear of Police

Aside from retrogressive cultural norms, another factor is our weak criminal justice system. From the commission of the offence to its movement through the criminal justice system, the burden of proof is unfairly placed on the victim. In Ekiti State, we have reversed this, first by publishing a service charter for victims of crime. This sets out in detail, how victims of crime should be treated, and what advice, support and practical information they can receive. We have subsequently enacted the Victims of Crime Law, which enumerates legal rights afforded victims of crime. These include the right to restitution, the right not to be excluded from the criminal justice proceedings and the right to be heard.  It must be appreciated that there are now progressive anti-GBV laws in most States of Nigeria. Even those States that are seen to be conservative appear to have in recent times, woken up to the urgency of the need to protect women, even if all they have done is to review their laws which previously left women particularly vulnerable to domestic violence. While most forms of gender-based violence are criminalised in many of our States, the practices of law enforcement, to a large extent, favour the perpetrators. Many women have a rational fear of engaging with the Police, due to a history of failing to protect women who report abuse and violations. This partly accounts for enduring low levels of reporting and investigation. Invariably,  most of these crimes go unreported.

Women in Politics

The under-representation of women in power and politics means that they have fewer opportunities to shape the discussion and to affect changes in policy, or to adopt measures to combat gender-based violence and support equality. If there were sufficient number of women in the National Assembly when those gender bills were debated, It is almost certain that the bills will not have been given second class consideration. Even in many State Houses of Assembly, the topic of gender-based violence has often times been deemed not to be important.

Looking Ahead

The response of the Federal Government to the alleged murder of Osinachi, is noteworthy. The visit of the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs to the Inspector General of Police, at the very least, means that something is being done. However, for most victims whose plight will never be the subject of national discussion, there is a need to do more. It has been more than a year, since the Nigerian Governors’ Forum declared a state of emergency on all forms of GBV.  It is time to evaluate progress. The Honourable Minister for Women Affairs, is suitably positioned to lead a nation wide evaluation on the effectiveness of the various State Government interventions. We need to know whether we are making progress, as the basis for further action on this matter.