A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Isaiah Ode, has advised spouses to be highly tolerant and avoid aggression and the resultant wife battering and divorce.
“Marriage is for companionship and love and should be devoid of violence,” Ode told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday.
He advised ladies yet to marry to avoid men with traces of violence when choosing life partners.
Ode said that intolerant men would be aggressive and easily angered and would want to assert authority over their wives anyhow including through battering.
He noted that battering was an act of intimidation to establish power and control over another person.
“Many abusive men believe that women are inferior. They believe that men are meant to dominate and control women,” he added.
He regretted that wife battering had resulted in severe injuries, dissolution of marriages and even deaths.
“Some women have been punched to death, many opt for divorce while some are enduring the marriages either because of their children’s future or fear of being tagged single mothers or divorcees,’’ the lawyer said.
He, however, cautioned women against using abusive words on their husbands, saying that it could lead to battering.
“Sometimes, women push their husbands to the wall through abusive words, nagging and disobedience.
“However, nothing can make a man who genuinely loves his wife to beat her,” Ode said.
The lawyer advised battered women to seek justice.
“In cases where the couple’s families have mediated but the beatings continued, the woman should seek refuge in the law.
“If you are a victim in Lagos State, you should seek legal assistance from Lagos State Domestic Violence Response Team,” he advised.
Ode also advised married partners to seek counsel that could end domestic violence in their homes.