Domestic Violence among Couples in Yoruba Society of Nigeria and Its Moral Concern for Church

Abstract

Domestic violence is undue acts in the bond of marriage to exercise power and control over the victims' behaviours. Human's violation of God's principles of marriage leads to domestic violence. The wrong views that some individuals carry into marriage are responsible for domestic violence among young couples today. This paper classifies factors that promote domestic violence among couples in Yoruba society into four major categories, namely; socio-cultural, moral, economic and cognitive factors. This paper argues that domestic violence is evident among couples in Yoruba society of Nigeria with devastating effects on the children, couples, society, government and church. The contemporary church as the representative of God on earth is saddled with the responsibility of making known to the world, the divine mandate of marriage. Domestic violence is not morally and socially justifiable. This paper recommends that the church should create more awareness of the protection and empowerment of women in society. Every couple should run away from any practice and worldviews that give room for domestic violence. The perpetrators and victims of domestic violence should be open and objective to the pastoral counselling.

Travis Hirschi’s Social Control Theory (SCT): Yoruba Family-Value and Domestic Violence Against Married Women

“…DVAMW is becoming a daily occurrence in the country because most families and societies condoned or are silent about it (Nanlong, (2022); Abakare, (2021); Amnesty International (AI), 2012). For instance, DVAMW that is mostly a coercive force or a form of power used by most men, either to harm, or enforce conformity or to control most married women in family-settings need to be checkmated by society's control system (Abraham, 2019;Powell,2011;Flury, Nyberg, & Riecher-Roosler2010). Individuals generally, engage in different activities for personal gain with lesser pain, unless restricted or refrained by moral directives or formal social control.…”