VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Jul 31, 2017 Editorial

Crimes of passion are being committed against women, the young and the not so young by vicious men whenever a love triangle goes wrong. Not only should we be outraged about the abuse and murder of women, but we should end the vicious cycle of violence perpetrated against them.
The government should do everything in its power to ensure that crimes of passion are reduced in the country by implementing stricter punishment on those who commit such brutal acts. There is no justification whatsoever for crimes of passion against women, and men too, for that matter. They are despicable acts and cannot be justified no matter how hard the culprits try to defend their actions and behaviour.
The truth is the government cannot prevent crimes of passion but it can in some way implement community programmes help men who tend to explode in a jealous rage to overcome their emotions. We know that the problem exists and we must act to protect those who have jilted their partners from being murdered.
Some claimed that the murder of women by men can be traced back to the school system, where female students are outclassing males in almost every field of education. The situation is so perplexing that some, mostly Christians, have called for divine intervention to curb these murders.
The scripture posits that faith without works is dead, which means that both action and divine inspiration are needed to help reduce these horrific killings. The people, the government, NGOs, women’s groups, the opposition and the media must mobilize and act to save women. We cannot surrender to any helplessness of wondering who will be next. Sabre rattling will not help.
Perhaps one of the more pressing issues, given what has been happening to women is how do we identify and stem the toxic relationships in the short term and uplift the mindset of our young men? It is said that men who kill their partners do so out of jealousy and possessiveness.
While some have labeled such murders as crimes of passion, studies have shown that men who murder their female partners are intentional killers. They often had problematic childhoods and adult-hoods, alcohol or drug problems, broken homes, failure at school or were jobless. Even though some men who killed women had none of these problems, they, however, had the tendency to murder their partners.
As reported on several occasions, men tend to become very violent if their spouses or partners decide to end their relationship. Many have harbored the belief that women are their property and if they cannot have them, then no one else will. It is explained in the scriptures that men are the head of the household and that wives should obey their husbands. Today, this creed is no longer accepted by most women, who have considered themselves equal partners in their relationship.
It is estimated that one-third of the murders in the country are domestic-violence related and most are committed by men. The only person who is to blame for a murder is the murderer. We must not under any circumstances condone murders but instead, society should devote more resources to stem the physical abuse and murder of women and at the same time improve the state and the mindset of men.
We have a serious problem at hand – women at risk of being murdered by their male partners if they decide to end their relationship. Efforts must be made to protect them, because of their vulnerability. Globally, it is estimated that 40 percent of all female murder victims die at the hands of a former male spouse or lover.
Almost all cases of homicides committed against women have occurred after they have ended the relationship or announced their intention to do so. Few homicides are committed by women.