The paper examines the socio-cultural bases of spousal violence in
Kaduna Metropolis. It x-rays the perception of gender roles and the sociocultural
causes of spousal violence within the generic concept of gender
violence. Given the dearth of data and the lack of systematic documentation
of spousal violence, this study attempts to fill the gap by providing a gender
sensitive data through its gender disaggregated analysis. The findings of this
study were derived from a survey of 590 respondents, 48.9 % (290) females
and 51.1% (300) males using the multi-stage cluster sampling technique as
well as qualitative data from Focus Group Discussions and In-depth
interviews with key informants in the community. The findings reveal that
most people still subscribe to the traditional gender roles though
submissiveness of women is increasingly being challenged. Moreover, while
violence against women is condoned, violence against men by women is
unacceptable. Women therefore retaliate through passive resistance in the
form of deliberate sluggishness, refusal to serve food and sexual neglect.
Insubordination of women and sex related problem were perceived as causes
of violence against women while female violence was attributed to
aggressiveness on the part of husbands, sex related problems, neglect of the
provider role and interference from mothers in-law. The paper concludes that
much of the violence that men and women experience is borne out of the
social and cultural prescriptions which often are skewed in favour of men
and in line with the findings, appropriate recommendations are highlighted.
In particular, in view of the important role religion plays in Nigeria, religious
leaders should be involved in changing people’s perception on gender roles
and attitudes to spousal violence.