Nairobi, Nyanza And Western Regions Lead in Husband Battery

For quite some now the belief has been that men from the central region in Kenya are the most endangered when it comes to domestic violence. This is perhaps so because of a number of incidences reported in the media ranging from knife attacks to burns by hot water and much more.But a latest study released on Thursday, January 14, is set to put this perception to bed after it indicated that men from Nairobi, Nyanza and Western regions in Kenya are actually the most bullied by spouses in the country.

According to the final report of the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), more than half of male respondents in the survey have experienced physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse from their partners.

In Nairobi and Western regions, 60% of men surveyed have been battered by their wives while Nyanza comes second with 56%. Eastern region is fourth with 48% of men who have been bullied by spouses while Central region, which many perceive as the most unwelcoming environment for men, is fifth with 43%. At the national level, 24% of all married men have experienced either physical, emotional or sexual violence while 1% of all married men has experienced the three forms.

“Most of the spousal violence most report is in the form of emotional violence. Only 9% of ever-married men report spousal physical or sexual violence compared to 39% of ever-married women,” the report says.

The forms of violence used to conduct the survey ranged from being shaken, pushed or having things thrown at them. There were also those who were slapped, had their arms twisted, hair pulled, punched, kicked, drugged or beaten.Others included chocking, burning, threatening and/or attacking with knives, gun or any other weapon and physical force to engage in sex.

During the presentation of the report, Planning Principal Secretary Saitoti Torome revealed that the survey which was conducted between May and October, 2014, was aimed at helping in planning, monitoring, evaluating and implementing of population and health programmes in the country.

The survey is the sixth conducted in Kenya since 1989 and it is aimed at providing data to monitor and plan for the health situation. By Tuko.co.ke.