I first became aware of Domestic Violence when I was just six-years-old. It played out in the backyard of the home where I was staying, like a bad Nigerian movie.
I had gone to spend a few days at an aunt’s home in another town. The man of the house and his wife had a bitter row. I became aware of this when the high pitched voices in the house moved from the bedroom to the sitting room and finally spilled out into the backyard where we were building wire cars.
My aunt was wielding a wooden cooking stick in her right hand and a no stick frying pan in her left hand. The chitenge which wrapped her waist was loose and threatening to expose all. She steadied it with her elbows and squared off with her spouse.
The man of the house stepped out after her, with the face of a man prepared to quail descent. His left fist swung, like it had lots of practice and the effect was immediate and devastating. The force of the impact lifted the lady of the house and thrust her onto her back on the parched hard red soiled floor of the play ground. Her weapons of defense scattered harmlessly around her and the chitenge gave way leaving nothing to the imagination.
In secondary school a few years later we received a new Civics teacher with a reputation. On his first day, in case any of us was skeptical about his reputation, he left us in no doubt. He told us, how he managed his home. If his children misbehaved, he said, he started by beating up their mother, then all of the children, regardless of the one who had done wrong. Looking around in the class, the dead silence that followed, told me, we were all convinced.
In the 1980s the Inspector General of Police, of the time, was asked to comment on the increasing cases of domestic violence in Zambia. He made it clear that the job of the police was to fight crime not domestic violence.
For good measure, he added, that he took the liberty to apply physical discipline himself in his home when the occasion warranted it. Things have changed somewhat since then.
The other day in the papers I remember reading the story of a man beating his wife to death because she did not give him food quickly enough. So how serious is domestic violence in Zambia and how does it affect the health of the community. In looking at this matter there are 3 questions we must answer;
1. What is domestic violence, and is it common in Zambia?
2. Can domestic violence affect the health of men, women and children?
3. What can we do to reduce domestic violence in our community?
What is domestic violence, and is it common in Zambia?
Domestic Violence is defined by the world health Organisation (WHO) as any physical, sexual and psychological abuse of a child, spouse or member of the family. Though many see this as directed at women or wives, it may also be perpetrated against husbands, nephews, nieces, daughters, sons and any other member of the household.
I remember a neighbour of ours where the husband was of a slight build. His wife on the other hand was an enormous woman. He had the habit of coming home drunk at the end of the month. She would wait for him in the driveway every pay day. The man of the house would be hoisted by this huge woman and carried shoulder high. We would sneak up to the window of the house and watch him get spanked like a baby on the sitting room sofa.
Surprisingly domestic violence is very common in Zambia, in fact Zambia has the highest levels of domestic violence in the SADC sub region. According to the Zambia Demographic Health Survey up to half of Zambian women aged 15 to 49 have experienced domestic violence (47 per cent).
In a survey of eight southern African countries including Zambia, women were asked how many had been beaten by their spouses in the last one year, about one third of the Zambian women interviewed admitted having been victims of domestic violence (36%). In the other seven countries the figures were much lower, Mozambique for example, which was the lowest had only 1 in 10 women admitting to having been beaten by their spouse (11 per cent).
The next question which may be asked is who gets beaten and by whom. The typical victim is a 25-29 year old women, living in an urban area, particularly the Copperbelt or Lusaka. She will either be married with at least 2 children, separated or divorced. Most often she will have had some modest education up to secondary school and will be working in a cash form of employment. That is, she will be paid monthly or weekly by cash.
These payments are often the cause of disagreement over which the domestic violence results. Women are most often beaten by their husbands or former partners, so usually the violence is perpetrated by someone known to the woman, or what is called intimate partner domestic violence.
How about men? Men are also occasionally the subject of violence. Fewer men in Zambia will admit to this, due in part to societal perceptions. However previous surveys have shown that up to one in three men (27 per cent) have been the subject of domestic violence by women. Given the stigma associated with this admission, the figure maybe an underestimation.
Notwithstanding this, the figure is higher than in the other neighbouring countries where rates of five per cent to 20 per cent are reported.
This violence is also directed to pregnant women and children. When domestic violence is linked with alcohol intake it has been observed that the domestic violence will be more frequent, more severe and more likely to be of a sexual nature. Most domestic violence tends to start after about 2 years of marriage.
The World Health Organisation statistics show that up to one in every five adults was abused as a child (23 per cent).Girls are at greater risk (20 per cent) than boys (10 per cent).
It is sometimes said by those who know the matters of tradition better, that the increase in domestic violence is an attempt to restore the collapsing fabric of tradition. That men are attempting to regain an authority which is bestowed on them by right, by nature and tradition, which has been stolen by an ever rising wave of feminism and liberal western traditions. Even if this were true, the method cannot   surely be condoned.
Can domestic violence affect health?
There are several health risks to men, women and children posed by domestic violence. However, the greatest risk that domestic violence poses is to the mental health of children.
Even when children themselves are not abused in the home, their experience of violence in the home has a lasting impact on their physical, mental and psychological development. Studies show that within the first few years of brain development, the environment in which the child grows will affect the way their brain develops.
If there is an appropriate caring family environment this helps the brain grow forming normal nerve connections which creates healthy physical, mental and psychological growth. The family up bringing helps the child achieve normal emotional growth. In an abusive household the emotional growth of the child is impaired. Children raised in an abusive home, way have difficulties forming normal relationships.
The child may be excessively introversive or simply put too shy. Many will develop antisocial behaviour failing to show empathy towards others. It appears that most social behaviour, the sense of right and wrong is learnt from those around us. These children will have a high incidence of nightmares, bed wetting, learning difficulties, low self-esteem and suicidal ideas.
Children who are mistreated do not develop a good immune system they are prone to infections and tend to be stunted, shorter than they should be.
These children have a tendency to depression, drug abuse, and delinquency in schools, crime among boys and teen age pregnancies among girls. There is also a greater risk in people who were abused as children to themselves become abusers of their own spouses and children.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Royal College of Psychiatrists of England, have both indicated a clear link between women’s reproductive health, children’s health and mental health with Domestic violence. There is no doubt that by stemming domestic violence we will improve the health of women, men and children in Zambia. Four conditions which are a direct cause of illness from domestic violence are;
•    Physical injury
•    Miscarriages
•    STIs, HIV, teenage pregnancies
•    Mental Illness and Drug abuse
In Zambia physical injury, which includes Road Traffic accident, Domestic injury, Assault   etc,   is one of the four leading causes of admission to hospital. After Road Traffic Accidents domestic injury is the second major cause of physical injury.
Common domestic injuries seen in hospitals include gunshot wounds, stub wounds, chemical burns and human bites, just to mention a few. The life time risk of physical injury in Domestic violence is about 50 per cent.
In short, the chance that a person in a house in which there is violence is likely to get injured severely enough to be admitted to a hospital is high. Women who are pregnant are especially at high risk for injury. The risk of a loss of a pregnancy or death is about 16 per cent.
With domestic violence there is an increased risk of sexual violence, sexually transmitted infection, HIV and unwanted pregnancy. In such relationships women are unable or afraid to negotiate for safe sex practices from their spouse or partner. Domestic violence has been associated with depression, suicide ideas and fears or phobias.
Women who are the subject of domestic violence often suffer from anxiety, low self-confidence and a poor self-image. Some resort to alcohol or other forms of drug abuse. The Royal College of Psychiatrist have pointed out in their report, that often people who are abusive may suffer from underlying psychiatric illness, personality disorders or may themselves have been subjected to abuse in their childhood.
What can we do about domestic violence?
Domestic violence is a community problem and the solutions lies within the community. If we all take the view that domestic violence is a threat to our communities then we can take action together. It is quite evident that domestic violence poses a health risk mainly to children. If we say, as we often do, that children are the future of Zambia. Then domestic violence poses a grave threat to our future.
What can I do about domestic violence? There are at least 4 things we can all do;
1. be aware of it.
2. Speak up against it.
3. Do NOT DO IT
4. Report it
There are at least 4 important things that promote domestic violence, these are alcohol, complicity of the abuser, urbanisation and tradition. By drinking less alcohol and encouraging less alcohol drinking in communities we will indirectly reduce domestic violence in homes. Tradition and the disempowerment of women increases the vulnerability of women to violence.
Programmes in the community that provide income generating skills to women, and make them more independent will help reduce gender violence. One of the major reasons the cycle of domestic violence has been so difficult to break is the complicity of the person abused and the community.
The abused person often feels alone, ashamed and guilty so they are unwilling to report the abuse. The community is also unwilling to listen, the abuse is accepted as part of the marriage package. If we are aware of domestic violence and we do nothing about it, then we are promoting domestic violence. Let’s all make it our business to do something about domestic violence today and protect our children.