Enfoque basado en hechos para la toma de decisiones: Las decisiones eficaces se basan en el análisis de los datos y la información confiable y

Kathy Lay and James Daly assert that ‘feminist theory offers a perspective for understanding human behaviour in the social environment by centring women and issues that women face in contemporary society’.94 _{They further suggest that ‘the}

understanding and analysis of oppression are central to feminist theories’.95 _Flax

contends that ‘oppression is embedded in the very socio-economic and political organization of our society; and that structure is the patriarchy, which has deep roots in the culture at large’.96 _{The feminist theory of domestic violence, according}

to Amaral:

…emphasizes gender and power inequality in opposite-sex relationships. It focuses on the societal messages that sanction a male’s use of violence and aggression throughout life, and the proscribed gender roles that dictate how men and women should behave in their intimate relationships. It sees the root causes of intimate partner violence as the outcome of living a society that condones aggressive behaviours perpetrated by men, while socializing women to be non-violent.97

92 _{Jo Dixon, ‘Feminist Theory and Domestic Violence’ (2014) Criminology and Criminal Justice. New}

York: Springer Verlag 1612.

93 _{Donald G Dutton and Tonia L Nicholls, ‘The Gender Paradigm in Domestic Violence: Research and}

Theory’ (2005) 10 Aggression and Violent Behaviour 680.

94 _{Kathy Lay and James G Daly, ‘A Critique of Feminist Theory’ (2007) 8 (1) IUPIU 49.} 95 _ibid.

96 _{Jane Flax, ‘Postmodernism and Gender Relations in Feminist Theory’ (1987) 12 (4) Journal of women}

in culture and society 621.

97 _{Richard Amaral, ‘Explaining Domestic violence using feminist theory’ (Psychology for Growth, 21}

March 2011) < http://www.psychologyforgrowth.com/domestic-violence-feminist-theory/> accessed 3 July 2017.

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It is noteworthy that it is not only feminist theory that conceptualises domestic violence as a male-perpetrated enterprise encouraged by power inequality in many societal settings. According to Peters et al.:

… [There are] three theoretical approaches to domestic violence [which] view the violence as caused by specific deficits: Deficits in ego skills or coping mechanisms; deficits in anger control; and deficits in communication and cognitive skills. In contrast, … feminist theory, states that the violence inflicted on the victim is not a by-product of underlying deficits, but instead is inflicted strategically and intentionally. Feminist theorists argue that domestic violence is used by men to exert power and control over their female partners.98

At the crux of feminist theory’s approach in explaining and understanding domestic violence is the premise that in most societies, male’s violence against women are encouraged by cultural, traditional and religious beliefs and practices. The difference in male and female orientation in most ethnic groups in Nigeria coupled with the superior status/value accorded to men over women appears to corroborate feminist’s theory that sees domestic violence as a weapon used by men to exert authority and control over women. The apparent discrimination of women in almost all spheres of life in Nigeria and having laws in some parts of the country that encourage violence against women resonate and lend credence to feminist’s theory on domestic violence.99 This underpins its relevance as a basis to discuss the high prevalence of domestic violence in Nigeria, notwithstanding the critics of the theory on how it conceptualizes intimate partner violence.

The critiques of feminist theory on domestic violence mostly centres on the argument of feminists that men’s violence against women is a bye-product of gender and power inequality in the society. Dutton contends that:

Feminist theory views all social relations through the prism of gender relations and holds, in its neo-Marxist view, that men (the bourgeoisie) hold power advantages over women (the proletariat) in patriarchal societies and

98 _{Jay Peters, Todd K Shackelford and David M Buss, ‘Understanding Domestic Violence Against}

Women: Using Evolutionary Psychology to Extend the Feminist Functional Analysis’ (2002) 17 (4) Violence and Victims 255 [Emphasis added].

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that all domestic violence is either male physical abuse to maintain a power advantage or female defensive violence, used for self-protection.100

Furthermore, Dutton and Tonia comment that:

The feminist paradigm supports the notion that domestic violence is primarily a culturally supported male enterprise and that female violence is always defensive and reactive. When women are instigators, in this view, it is a "pre-emptive strike," aimed at instigating an inevitable male attack.101

Also, critiques of feminist theory have been consistent in condemning feminist’s standpoint concerning support for men’s victims of domestic violence as Cruz elucidates:

Proponents of feminist theory acknowledge that women can also be violent in their relationships with men; however, they simply do not see the issue of women abusing men as a serious social problem, and therefore, does not deserve the same amount of attention or support as violence against women.102

The feminist’s reluctance to acknowledge that some women can be as violent as men, and that men victims of domestic violence deserve as much attention as women in terms of support may have created an unbalanced and biased view of the feminist theory. It is also incompatible with the feminist’s vision of equality and opened cracks in the feminist theory for attacks. It has been suggested that the feminist’s reluctance to acknowledge the impact of women’s domestic violence against men, and their need for support, bothers on funding concerns. It appears they are concerned about a situation where men and women support programs may be struggling for funds from the same source.103

100 _{Donald G Dutton, Rethinking Domestic Violence (University of British Columbia Press 2007) 95 -}

184.

101 _{Donald G Dutton and Tonia L Nicholls, ‘The Gender Paradigm in Domestic Violence: Research and}

Theory’ (2005) 10 Aggression and Violent Behaviour 680.

102 _{D Kurz, “No: Physical Assaults by male partners: A major social problem” in Walsh M R (ed)}

Women, men, & gender: Ongoing debates (New Haven, Yale University Press 1997) 67.

103 _{Jen Gerson, ‘Privately run shelter for male victims of domestic abuse forced to close its doors due to}

lack of funding’ National Post (Canada, 20 March 2013)

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However, notwithstanding the criticism of the feminist theory of gender and power inequality as one of the causes of domestic violence in a patriarchal society like Nigeria, the critics have not been able to completely dislodge that notion. This is evident, especially in societies where patriarchy is juxtaposed with embedded cultural, religious and traditional practices. In his critique of feminist theory, Dutton argues that ‘in societies where violence against women are not generally accepted, such as North America, violent men are not living up to a “cultural norm”’.104 _{However, he acknowledged that ‘[cultural] norm may exist in}

patriarchal societies, such as Korea or Islamic countries’.105

In Nigeria, considerable empirical research lends credence to the feminist’s theory contending that gender and power inequality generates relational violence.106 From the foregoing, I believe that feminist legal theory is a suitable framework amongst other potential theories that will aid the discussion and understanding of the peculiarities associated with domestic violence in Nigeria.