Violence against women as an obstacle to women’s productivity in Nigeria: A challenge to recreate contemporary Nigerian society

Resumo

Women’s lives and their bodies have been the unacknowledged casualties of men for too long. As a result of violence perpetrated against them, their productivity in workplaces have decreased over time. Understanding that productivity improvement is a key objective for industries, the thrust of the study is, therefore, to evaluate, from a sociological perspective, the consequences of violence on women’s productivity in contemporary Nigerian society. A sample 595 respondents was selected through the multistage sampling techniques amongst working class women. The questionnaire was subjected to face and content validation by experts from gender and women studies. Chi-square was adopted to test the hypotheses at 0.05 levels of significance. Findings reveal that violence against women disrupts women’s lives, destroys their health, undermines their confidence, and takes away their psychological sense of esteem, as well as undermines their full participation in social life. Secondly, the study show that women make several medical visits every year to treat injuries resulting from assaults by spouse thereby limiting the number of hours spent in the office. Essentially, violence against women lessens the woman’s inability to work and promote productivity. Based on this, the study concludes that since women represent an important population group in Nigeria, there is an urgent need to address marital violence against them, particularly those in the formal sector of the economy because they make meaningful contributions to the overall labour force and general societal well-being of all and sundry. In view of this, the study recommends, amongst others, that government through state and non-state actions should ensure the strict enforcement of laws that protect women’s rights, as well as deter their partners from subjecting them to violence. In addition, educational and religious institutions should re-orientate men to be more accommodating in their relationship with their women partners on the ills associated with marital violence particularly wife abuse, with a view to getting them unlearn such violent behaviours. Finally, there is a need for advocacy and concerted action that will involve the educational, health, civil and religious sectors of the society to evolve sustainable structures that will empower women and provide support to enable victims to react appropriately to violence.

Referências

1. Abayomi, A. A.; Kolawole, T. O. Domestic violence and death: Women as endangered
2. gender in Nigeria. American Journal of Sociological Research, v. 3, no. 3, p. 53-60, 2013.
3. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.sociology.20130303.01
4. Amnesty International. Unheard voices. Nigeria: Amnesty International, 2005. Available
5. from: <http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engafr440042005>. Accessed on: Jul. 23,
6. Barnett, O. W.; Laviolette, A. D. It could happen to anyone: Why battered women stay.
7. London: Sage Publication, 1993.
8. Bart, P. B.; Moran, E. G. (Eds.). Violence against woman: The bloody footprints. London:
9. Sage Publication, 1993.
10. Bradley, C. Why male violence against women is a development issue: Reflections from
11. Paupau, New Guinea. In: Davies, M. (Ed.). Women and violence: Realities and responses
12. worldwide. New York: Zed Books, 1994.
13. Brown, L.; Dubau, F.; McKeon, M. Y. D. Stop domestic violence: An action plan for saving
14. lives. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 1997.
15. Burns, A. A.; Lovich, R.; Maxwell, Y.; Shapiro, K. Where women have no doctor: A health
16. guide for women. California: Macmillan, 1997.
17. Carrilo, R. Battered dream: Violence against women as an obstacle to development. New
18. York: United Nation Development Funds, 1992.
19. Chiou, W. C.; Kuo, H. W.; Lu, I. Y. A technology oriented productivity measurement model.
20. International Journal of Production Economics, v. 60, no. 1, p. 69-77, 1999.
21. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0925-5273(98)00187-X
22. Chukwu, C. C.; Okey, A. The perils of sexual violence against women: A case of Abakaliki
23. and Ikwo Local Government Areas of Ebonyi State, South-East Nigeria. International
24. Journal of Applied Research and Studies, v. 4, no. 5, 2015.
25. Collins, K. S.; Schoen, C.; Joseph, S.; Duchon, L.; Simantov, E.; Yellowitz, M. Health concerns
26. across a woman’s lifespan: The Commonwealth Fund 1998 Survey of Women’s Health.
27. Available from: <https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fundreports/1999/may/health-concerns-across-womans-lifespan-commonwealth-fund1998>. Accessed on: Jul. 23, 2019.
28. Cox, E. S. Gender violence and women’s health in Central American. In: Davis, M. (Ed.).
29. Women and violence: Realities in responses worldwide. New York: Zed Books, 1994.
30. p. 118-133.
31. Davis, M. (Ed.). Women and violence: Realities and responses worldwide. New York: Zed
32. Books, 1994.
33. Dwyer, D. C.; Smokowsk, P. R.; Bricout, Y. C.; Wodarski, Y. S. Domestic violence and women
34. battering: Theories and practice implications. In: Roberts, A. R. (Ed.). Helping battered
35. women: New perspectives and remedies. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. p. 67-
36. Eze-Anaba, I. Domestic violence and legal reforms in Nigeria: Prospects and challenges.
37. Cardozo Journal of Law & Gender, v. 14, no. 1, p. 21-60, 2007.
38. Ferarro, K. J. Cops, courts and women battering. In: Bail, P. B.; Moran, E. G. (Eds.). Violence
39. against women: The bloody footprints. London: Sage Publication, 1993. p. 165-176.
40. Ganny, M. Domestic violence: The case of wife abuse and its effects on women’s
41. contribution to national development. In: Oruwari, Y. (Ed.). Women, development and
42. the Nigerian environment. Ibadan: Vantage Publishers, 1996.
43. Greasley, A. Operation management. 2. ed. Chichester: Wiley & Sons, 2009.
44. Gunasekaran, A.; Korukonda, A. R.; Virtanen, I.; Yli-Olli, P. Improving productivity and
45. quality in manufacturing organizations. International Journal of Production
46. Economics, v. 36, no. 2, p. 169-183, 1994.
47. Haaga, P. T.; Aja, E. F.; Chukwuemeka, O. A. Violence against women and its implications
48. for peace and security in Nigeria. International Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies,
49. v. 2, no. 3, p. 27-40, 2015. Available from: <http://rcmss.com/2015/
50. ijpcs/september/VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR PEACE AND
51. SECURITY IN NIGERIA.pdf>. Accessed on: Jul. 23, 2019.
52. Hannula, M. Total productivity measurement based on partial productivity ratios.
53. International Journal of Production Economics, v. 78, no. 1, p. 57-67, 2002.
54. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0925-5273(00)00186-9
55. Holy Bible. The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982.
56. ICPD - International Conference on Population and Development. 1994. Available from:
57. <https://www.unfpa.org/icpd>. Accessed on: Jul. 23, 2019.
58. Ilika, A. L. Women’s perception of partner violence in a Rural Igbo Community. African
59. Journal of Reproductive Health, v. 9, no. 3, p. 77-88, 2005.
60. ILO - International Labour Organization. Key indicators of the Iabour market. Geneva:
61. International Labour Office, 2006.
62. Kerlinger, F. N. Foundations of behavioural sciences. New York: Holt, Rinehart and
63. Wilson, 1983.
64. Kurosawa, K. Productivity measurement and management at the company level: The
65. Japanese experience. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1991.
66. Lindsay, C. Labour market trends. London: Office for National Statistics, 2004.
67. Marelli, E.; Signorelli, M. Employment, productivity and models of growth in the EU.
68. International Journal of Manpower, v. 31, no. 7, p. 731-754, 2010.
69. Margolin, G.; Burman, B. Wife abuse versus marital violence: Different terminologies,
70. explanations, and solutions. Clinical Psychology Review, v. 13, no. 1, p. 59-73, 1993.
71. https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-7358(93)90008-A
72. Nigeria Report. 2012. Available from: <https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/
73. default/files/british-council-gender-nigeria2012.pdf>. Accessed on: Jul. 23, 2019.
74. O’Mahoney, M.; De Boer, W. Britain productivity performance. London: NIERS, 2002.
75. OAU - Organization for African Unity. African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
76. Nairobi, Kenya: OAU, 1986. Available from: <https://www.ihrda.org/2012/10/africancharter-on-human-and-peoples-rights-2/>. Accessed on: Jul. 23, 2019.
77. Okolo, G. U. Violence against women. Baye Communications, 2004.
78. Oxford Learner’s Dictionary. 1995.