gender violence in the private sphere that includes
sexual assault, psychological torment, and depriva-
tion of the capacity to meet basic human needs.
Domestic violence is most common where the
social structure favors male power and the domi-
nant ideology legitimates women’s subordination.
In Africa, domestic violence emerges from many of
the same patterns of economic, political, and legal
discrimination found worldwide. Women’s eco-
nomic dependence on men makes leaving a violent
household difficult or impossible. Domestic vio-
lence acts as a form of social control, enforcing
women’s low status and discouraging them from
seeking political change. Legal systems tend to
enforce patriarchal norms and provide only limited
resources for preventing or punishing violence. The
everyday experience of domestic violence in Africa
also reflects local realities and cultural context.Domestic violence in cultural
context
Any inquiry into the place of violence in African
life runs the risk of reproducing a stereotypical
image of a homogeneous and “uncivilized” part of
the world that has helped to justify Western racism,
colonialism, and paternalism. An accurate assess-
ment of gender violence in Africa therefore requires
recognition of Africa’s great cultural diversity, as
well as the context of colonialism and international
inequality that continues to shape contemporary
African societies.
The incidence of domestic violence varies across
Africa, with research indicating higher rates in
Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda,
Zimbabwe, and lower rates in countries where it is
generally considered socially unacceptable, such as
Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Eritrea, Gabon, Madagas-
car, Malawi, Mauritania, Somalia, Swaziland, and
Togo. However, these findings should be consid-
ered in the context of the problems of under-report-
ing, the “culture of silence” surrounding domestic
violence in many African societies, and the incom-
plete and ongoing nature of domestic violence
research in Africa.
Aspects of culture that shape domestic violence
include relative acceptance of physical force in
marriage, gender role expectations, and family
structure. All of these undergo stress in response to
deteriorating economic conditions and political
repression, fostering violence and making redress
more elusive.
In some predominantly Muslim countries, such
as Senegal, Islam provides a rationale for male bat-
tering under the label of “correcting” wives who
misbehave. In non-majority Muslim countries like126 domestic violence
Ghana, comparable legitimation derives from oral
tradition and popular culture. In some contexts,
such as Zimbabwe and Uganda, a majority of
women report that battering is justifiable under cer-
tain circumstances. Many Africans throughout the
continent see domestic violence as a private matter
subject to local norms and family authority, not
public scrutiny or state intervention. These beliefs
present a challenge to activists working to change
attitudes and laws. However, over-generalizations
about the acceptance of gender violence in Africa
belie the diversity of views both among and within
African societies. In Senegal, for example, many
men and women argue that battering is at odds
with the precepts of Islam.
Patterns of family authority provide the structure
within which acts of violence and responses to vio-
lence occur. Hierarchical male authority, common
in Africa, makes women’s resistance difficult. Some
practices may exacerbate the incidence of violence
in particular instances. Polygyny, a significant
though minority practice in many African coun-
tries, may create conditions of unique vulnerability
for battered women. In Uganda, some polygamous
men use physical force to manage conflicts between
co-wives. Ugandan women may also tolerate vio-
lence for fear of divorce and economic abandon-
ment by a husband with additional wives. The
payment of bridewealth may also exacerbate bat-
tering, as well as marital rape. Originally, this prac-
tice symbolized the bond between families and
compensation for a daughter’s labor. But in many
African countries today, including Botswana, the
Central African Republic, Mozambique, South
Africa, and Uganda, bridewealth constitutes the
“purchase” of a woman’s body by her husband,
helping to justify abuse.
The economics of gender violence have grown
harsher in the aftermath of the economic crisis of
the 1980s and severe structural adjustment policies.
Women who are economically dependent on men
and their families cannot afford to protest or to
escape violent households. Men unable to fulfill
traditional economic roles carry frustration and
conflict into family life. Battered women, their
health and energy drained, cannot contribute fully
to the economic well-being of their families or the
development of their societies.Sexual violence
As with battering, sexual violence in much of
Africa is met with silence or defined as part of a
socially acceptable range of behavior. As in the rest
of the world, most rape in Africa occurs between
acquaintances, including intimates and family mem-