Social Equality: Domestic Violence Entrench Gender Inequality and Discrimination

　　　　Despite male dominance and patriarchal nature of most societies, women have gained much strength and power across the world. However, concerns about culture are still often raised in relation to initiatives for gender equality in social development. Domestic violence is a prevailing social reality which represents gender discrimination. Indeed, it is appallingly, widespread due to the nature of most cultures that regard women as the fairer sex. Allan Hoffman and Randal Summers agree that domestic violence occurs across all social and economic groups and adversely affects different members of the family as well as people. Nevertheless, they see that due to culture and socialization, some constituents of human population has traditionally been at a greater risk of victimization and discrimination than others. Interestingly, most studies show that about 20 to 50 per cent of women face domestic abuse in different parts of the world.  Arguably therefore, women and girls are at a greater risk of discrimination and abuse within their families where they should feel safest.  Domestic violence against women is a prevailing social reality and it entrenches social inequality.

Domestic violence against the female gender primarily involves aggression by an intimate partner, including a inhabiting partner beyond the confines of the home Broadly, such violence occurs in many forms including sexual, physical, psychological as well as ‘‘abuse’’ of properties that belong to women. Regardless of the form of occurrence,  a person exposed to violence, there is a much possibility of her life being threatened. This occurs as she experiences a sense of powerlessness, vulnerability and in some cases, fear.

Psychological (emotional abuse) is the third form of violence against women. Victim-survivors of psychological violence is in most cases more agonized than those exposed to physical brutality. Psychological abuse is, often, characterized by mental stress leading to suicide, if not attempted suicide. In a nutshell, many women who are victims of domestic violence end up being victims of their own psychological realities.