Married Men as Victims of Spouse Abuse: A Case Study of Igbesa Community in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The problem of spouse abuse is over concentrated on women as victims not as perpetrators. This paper, therefore, investigated spouse abuse suffered by married men in order to uncover ways through which they were abused by their wives in Igbesa community of Ogun State. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. Quantitative method was used to gather data for the study. This involved the administration of questionnaire to thirty-six respondents who eventually participated in the study. The study was guided by combination of conflict theory and feminist theory. The study area was selected through convenience sampling method under non-probability technique but accidental sampling method under the same non-probability technique was used to select the respondents. The findings show that 30.6% of respondents were between 40-44 years, 69.4% of them were Christians, 44.4% of them were Master degree holders, 39.5% of respondents contracted their marriages in court/registry and 33.3% of them had spent between 11-15 years in marriage. Further findings show that 31.3% of respondents had been denied sex in the part by their wives, 21.8% had been verbally assaulted by wives, 10.9% of them had been threatened in the past by wives, 4.7% had their money stolen by wives and another 4.7% of them had their characters assassinated by their wives. A total of 14.7% said their wives abused them because of finances at home, 12.6% because of misunderstanding on family decision, 11.6% because of overgenerosity of the husbands, 8.4% because of husband’s aggressiveness and 7.4% because of religious/spiritual matters. In resolving the abuses, 20.2% of respondents sought for personal reconciliation, 16.3% ensured safety measures against abusive wives and 14.4% regulated their relationships from abusive wives. The study concluded that men also suffer abuse from their wives. More researches on men as victims of abuse, public sensitization on men as victims of spouse abuse, counselling and therapy for victims and government intervention were recommended in the study.