770 Wives beat husbands in 2013 – Report

Seven hundred and seventy (770) women were reported to have beaten up their male partners nationwide last year.

This figure represents an increase of 45 cases as against 725 cases reported in 2012.

Speaking to The Finder in Accra, ASP Irene Oppong, Public Relations Officer of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), explained that most of the cases were reported during festive seasons such as Christmas and Easter, as well as the re-opening of school.

She noted that during these periods, demand by female spouses for school fees as well as money to purchase new items for the home sometimes generated into arguments that ended up in assaults.

According to her, women who abused their husbands did that based on their physical strength, temper and anticipation that they were going to be beaten by their husbands.

ASP Oppong stated that men who reported such cases did that based on the knowledge of their rights, hence the avoidance of any retaliation.

In her explanation, she couldn’t hide her satisfaction that more men came forward with such cases regarding their spouses.

This, she said, would enable the issue of abuse to be dealt with properly and not as a one-sided issue as it has been presented over the years.

On defilement, ASP Oppong told The Finder that 1,230 cases were reported for 2013 as against 1,118 in 2012.

According to her, a total of 19,171 cases were recorded for 2013 as against 17,888 for 2012.

She said 4,687 women were assaulted by their partners, indicating that women suffered the highest domestic violence abuse compared to their male counterparts.

She stated that the trend of increasing cases for spousal abuse is worrying for the unit.

ASP Oppong stated that parents and guardians should keep an eagle’s eye on their children, since most of the perpetrators of defilement cases were known to the victim.

She stressed that if parents build communication lines their wards would be able to talk to them about such acts toward them to enable it to be dealt with before it actually happens.

According to her, such acts are started with some form of advances, hence if good communication lines are built children can report such incidents.

Other forms of abuses such as sodomy, incest, child trafficking and abandonment were reported as well. Sodomy recorded six cases; incest, 27; child trafficking, 11; and abandonment, 9.

In her final statement, she urged that public to help end all forms of violence and abuse.

She was hopeful that more people will come forward to report cases as well as perpetrators who try to hide their actions by calling for settlements.

She warned that the law will not be bent for anyone. ASP Oppong assured the public that DOVVSU is going to work hard to ensure that all forms of abuses are reduced to the barest minimum.