Challenging domestic violence under national and international law: judging the innumerable legal violations undermining the protection of women's constitutional rights in Cameroon

The notion of violence especially on the rights of women has been plagued with lots of plausible euphoria jeopardizing the initial rational and objective of the human rights placement, that of ensuring that everyone should be treated with respect and fundamental dignity. The situation has become appalling and frustrating as women encounter violations on their various status and rights, making them becoming subjects of ridicule. Willing to ensure the recognition and protection of women, Cameroon has adopted a series of international, regional and national laws aiming at ensuring a safe and secured environment for the protection of women rights and status. Regardless of the various measures set by the country, the notion of domestic violence appears to be more of a pandemic than a curable substance as issues of women protection are concerned.

This article is of the opinion that the concept of domestic violence in Cameroon is accelerating as most women are still treated as an object of commodity in the eyes of many. There is a continuous violation of women rights especially in aspects of sexual violence and discriminatory practices meted on women. This situation has become worrisome, as many question the future of women rights in Cameroon as issues of sexual violence escalate, thus affecting tremendously the prestigious status to be occupied by women in the society. In answering the above question and hypothesis, there will be the need to evaluate the domestic violence environment in Cameroon by questioning the complexities in the country on issues related to combatting domestic violence, and examining the way forward.

It is convenient and an established scourge beyond all reasonable doubt that, the singularity of sexual violence continues to be a hard nut to crack notwithstanding all the remarkable efforts put in place by the government of Cameroon in ensuring its fight. we continue to experience aspect of violations and abuses on the women right making those harmful practices meted on the women to be turned an unrealistic atmosphere. To this set, it is advisable that more efforts, mechanisms and methods should be invested by the government of Cameroon to establish a favorable climate and environment in the protection and preservation of women rights and status in the country.

Key words: battling, sexual violence, Cameroonian law, violations, women rights.

БОРОТЬБА З ДОМАШНІМ НАСИЛЬСТВОМ ЗГІДНО З НАЦІОНАЛЬНИМ ТА МІЖНАРОДНИМ ПРАВОМ: РОЗГЛЯД НЕЗЛІЧЕННИХ ЮРИДИЧНИХ ПОРУШЕНЬ, ЯКІ ПОРУШУЮТЬ ЗАХИСТ КОНСТИТУЦІЙНИЙ ПРАВ ЖІНОК У КАМЕРУНІ

Нана Чарльз Нгіндіп,

старший викладач кафедри англійського права факультету права та політології Університету Дшанг (Камерун)

Анотація

Introduction

Women in many society are treated as some commodities and sometimes susceptible as to what they represent. Notwithstanding the modern conception and advancement, women continue to be treated inhumanely, unsympathetically and callously, and this has affected both their status and rights acquired in the society. Several human Rights instruments, amongst which, the Universal Declaration of Human Right 1948, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, MAPUTO Protocol, African Charter on the Welfare of the Child, and hosts of others have condemned the illegal practices experienced by women on the international scene which has portrayed devastating impact and effect on the status they represent in the society. Regardless of the laudable efforts initiated and set by these instruments, the rates of violation of women rights are increasing and rampant. The international community continue to experience violation done on women rights, examples being, Female Genital Mutilations, Sexual Harassment, Voluptuous Abuses, Rape, widow practices and many other harmful practices. These inhuman, violent and unredeemable practices experienced by women on the international scene are not exempted in Cameroon. Cameroon as a State of Law, dedicates great efforts in certifying that women anguishing from the effects of violence should be protected. In exercising these efforts, the country has ratified a series of international, regional and even sub-regional laws combating violence done to women. Cameroon's dedication in this fight is even more observed in the enactment of National laws such as the Constitution, the Penal Code, Labor Code, Civil Status Registration Ordinance, Civil Code and many others. However, it is surprising despite of the various laws initiated in Cameroon, there exist to date no concrete and concise particular law handling matters of domestic violence. The absence of such peculiar law has created a huge impact on women status as we continue to experience an increasing violence on women in the country. The situation of child marriage, Female Genital Mutilation, Breast Ironing, Widow Practices, Property Discrimination, continue to be a nightmare in the country irrespective of the efforts introduced by competent authorities like the State through its ministries, NGOs, Civil Society, and other Women Rights Advocate Group advocating for the elimination and eradication of all forms of violence done to women. These efforts and contributions have been ignoring as it has produces little to no interest in matters relating to women rights and status. There is no doubt that, issue of violence is not only experienced in Cameroon. Indeed, the international Community continues to be affected in this capacity. The question posed is in ascertaining whether this continuous silent crime done to women can be eradicated? Will women in their status and rights experience security on their established identity? In its entire ramification, the story of violence experienced by women will be an unacceptable forum to say without terror that the women will be free from bondage of violence on their various statuses. This is really an oblivious hallucination.

Women violence is a deeply rooted problem that exists in every country in the world. In a report, Amnesty International indicated that: Violence in the home is a truly global phenomenon. The figures may vary in different countries but the suffering and its causes are similar around the world. According to World Bank figures, at least 20 per cent of women around the world have been physically abused or sexually assaulted. Official reports in the USA say that a woman is battered every 15 seconds and 700,000 are raped every year. In India, studies have found that more than 40 per cent of married women reported being kicked, slapped or sexually abused for reasons such as their husbands' dissatisfaction with their cooking or cleaning, jealousy, and a variety of other motives. At least 60 women were killed in domestic violence in Kenya in 1998-99, and 35 per cent of women in Egypt reported being beaten by their husbands. For millions of women the home is not a haven but a place of terror (Broken bodies, shattered minds Torture and ill-treatment of women, 2001).

For the most part, nevertheless, the international community has yet to create operational legal standards that will exclusively address the problems and intricacies experienced by the fight against domestic violence. Notwithstanding this unfortunate emptiness, the rights of battered women may be asserted under international and regional human rights conventions that are legally binding upon ratifying states. The International Bill of Human Rights comprised of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) the International, Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) sets forth general human rights standards that victims of domestic violence may invoke against their state of citizenship. That is, battered women who have exhausted all domestic remedies and who still find that the State has failed to adequately address their grievances, may hold the State liable if that State is a party to the above instruments. The same can be done under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women together with its Optional Protocol (1999), and under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984). Likewise, regional instruments may offer protection for battered women. The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950), the American Convention on Human Rights (1969) together with the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women (1994), and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (1981) are the major regional human rights documents invoked for victims of domestic violence.

The most critical failing of the institutions discussed below is the lack of adequate enforcement. That is, while some of the international and regional courts are capable of rendering binding decisions, the ultimate responsibility lays with the States' Parties to the various conventions to implement these decisions. Domestic violence is one of the numerous forms of violence against women that have been identified worldwide. The United Nations defined the term "violence against women" in a 1993 Declaration as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life". The Declaration further notes that violence against women can occur within the family or within the general community and that it may be condoned or perpetrated by government officials. Article 2 stating that violence in the family may include battery, sexual abuse, and marital rape while violence in the general community may include rape, sexual harassment at work, and trafficking in women. Having included domestic violence as a form of violence against women, the United Nations further explained that, the term `domestic violence' is used to describe actions and omissions that occur in various relationships.

Cameroonian laws also have provisions that protect human rights. Firstly, the Constitution of Cameroon of 18 January 1996 in its preamble mentions a good number of human rights under the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and especially those to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights.

All persons shall be equal before the law part 1 article 1(1), the citizens shall have equal right to vote at the age of 20 years and above article 2(3) no person shall be subjected to torture, cruel inhuman and degrading treatment, the State shall guarantee all citizens of either sex their rights and freedom, no person shall be arrested on ground of origin, religious, philosophical or political opinion or believe subject to public order. The Penal Code in art 278 states that no person is entitled to torture, physical and moral integrity, it also protects the right to life. It also states that serious injury caused by assault art 279, Slight Injury art 281, Simple Injury art 280 are punishable except in cases of self-defense if provided by the law. The Civil Status Registration Ordinance subjected to law No 2011/011 of 6 May 2011 amending and completing some provisions of Order No 81/02 of 29 June 1981 on the organization of the civil status registration and various aspects relating to the physical person in section 77(2), states that upon the death of the husband, the heir to the husband has no right to control the widow on how to dispose her husband's property, she can remarry after the 180 days of widowhood without laying hands or claims on the husband's property. The Civil code ordinance 81/02 of 29 June 1981 in its article 65 states that consent to marriage shall not be obtained through force, threat or abuse. Women are given the right to initiate divorce justified by adultery or domestic violence art 229-246. Thus the law protects women rights.

The Penal Code also prohibits forced marriages and punishes the offender with imprisonment and a fine art 356 of the 1981 law. It also punishes sexual harassment from six months to one-year imprisonment and a fine of 100,000FRS and punishes sexual assault from to an imprisonment from 5 to 10 years.

In article 277/01 of the 2016 law sexual harassment, female genital mutilation is punishable from 10 to 20 years' imprisonment and a fine and such penalty may increase for the recidivist and if it led to the death of the victim (Southern Cameroon High Court Laws, 1955, section 27).

In Cameroon, the important attention given to local traditions has affected women so badly in that traditions don't give as much protection as modern equality laws. The Constitution upholds the principle of gender equality but there are several obstacles to gender equality. Beside the fact that there are rules relating to women's legal status reflecting social attitude affecting the human rights of women, such laws have direct impacts on women's ability to exercise those rights, regarding the legal context of the family life. Cameroon laws affecting women's socio-economic status, access to education, to labor market, and politics contribute to violence against women and their access to redress and reparation. In customary laws, the judges are mostly men and they believe that women live to respect their decisions. They can have many wives, mistresses and even commit adultery yet the customary law does nothing. With such acts, they tend to foster inequality and promote men domination thus leading to suppression of the women, the degrading their status prejudice to her position and property. Domestic violence whether it is perpetrated by private or state actors constitutes a violation of human rights (Coomaraswamy R., 2003, p. 13). It is the duty of the State to ensure that there is no impunity for perpetrators of such violence.

Analyzing the Various Legal Uraemia Scrupling Combatting Domestic Violence in Cameroon

There is no doubt that the State of Cameroon has initiated laudable efforts in ensuring that issues of domestic violence are waned and even eradicated in the country through its countless laws and instruments may they be international, regional, or domestic. The situation gets appalling and frustrating as the female gender continues to experience gross violations of its fundamental rights and status, thus making the various legal instruments of an absolute questionable character. The question one will need to ask is to ascertain and find out the real problem on the legal platform that has made issues of domestic violence more of a pandemic than an epidemic with the possibility of being curable of all ailments and misfortune. This is a real twisting euphoria difficult to handle.

I-The discrepancy in various legal instruments.

The tendency is that there are so many instruments illustrating and combatting matters and issues of violence against women at the international, regional and Cameroonian level. We have a plethora of these instruments in all areas. Take a good look at the international level where we have the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Right, the 1966 international Covenant on Civil and Political Right, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Right 1966, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention Against Torture, the Convention on the Right of the Child and a host of others international laws to which Cameroon has not only signed but equally ratified. Even at the Regional level, we have the African Charter on Human and People's Right, the Convention on the Welfare of the Child and even the Maputo Protocol in which all are dealing with violence against women and the need for States in respecting these laws and provisions set Regional instruments in which Cameroon has duly signed and ratified and binding in its laws..

Looking also at the domestic level, many laws and instruments have been enacted like the Cameroon Constitution, Penal Code, Civil Code, Labor Code, Civil Status Registration Ordinance, Southern Cameroon High Courts Law and a series of proliferated laws in dealing with issues of domestic violence or violence against women. We are not saying that those laws are not essential, they are, and are commendable and rec- ommendable efforts of the State of Cameroon in setting beautiful laws and legal initiative in handling violence of women. The 1996 Constitution equally provides that all duly ratified instruments signed and ratified by Cameroon, takes priority over domestic laws (article 45 of the Cameroon Constitution stipulates that duly ratified treaties takes precedents over national or domestic laws.). Our main worry here is that these laws are just so numerous, rendering its application and enforcement confusing and questionable, as there exist no situation of effectiveness and competence, as the laws expect Member States to respect and execute, and failure will amount to breach of fundamental rights and instruments. Maybe the State of Cameroon was signing and ratifying all these instruments without understanding their implications in dealing with violence on women rights and protection. It will always be impracticable to use all these laws that deal with women violence to combat situations of violence and abuse of women rights at all levels.

We cannot and will never refuse or question the fact that the objective and responsibility of the Cameroonian Government in issues of human right protection is in ensuring that violence against women should be combatted and even eradicated. The problem we are having now is the provision and existence of too many laws and instruments which will rather destroy the whole combatting process as the law enforcement officers will be confused as to which law should be applicable. It is the beautiful intention of the laws to create and ensure that violence against women should be combatted and even eradicated as it constitutes violation of the fundamental rights, status and dignity of the womanhood. The diversified nature of different laws and instruments in combatting violence against women in Cameroon has made it difficult for the State of Cameroon to combat violence on women. Fantastic, great and plausible in the existence of all these laws on violence against women, but the problem we are facing is rather at the stage of recognition and application.

Worst of them, lies on the fact that these laws or instruments do not have the same connotations and meanings making it difficult and complex in handling cases of domestic violence or violence on women in general. Handling cases of violence on women is not as easy as we can imagine, talk less of combating, and when a standard law cannot be determined, it becomes more complicated. Violence on women is an issue complex in nature and of questionable character as it encloses a wide range of understanding to the society and the world at large. It is becoming more complicated when looking at the numerous instruments put in place in combatting this silent crime in Cameroon. All of these instruments provided in combating violence on women are inconsistent, diverse, and indifferent in their application and appellations, rendering the fight of these crimes cumbersome, worrisome and even impossible.

The Pathetic Scattering of Legal Instruments for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children.

Notwithstanding that there are discrepancies in the laws handling violence on women in Cameroon due to its numerous position, or instruments in protecting and promoting women and children rights, these laws in all its embryos are pathetic and frustrating. It seems as if regards or recognition is not given to these categories of persons. Human rights problems are not only limited to children and women rights in the world as it concerns other categories of persons. The situations of women and children rights instruments are exaggerated and confusing. Every law wants to prove that they handle issues relating women, to the extent that we do not even understand if it is the same issues they are dealing with. Women violation and violence requires to be given optimum attention by everyone, it is not in scattering laws here left and right that we are going to understand that there is the need to combat this violence. The manner in which laws are scatter is worrisome and questionable.

The State of Cameroon has brought this problem to itself by taking laws everywhere just in the need to combat violence made to women. Let us face facts here! When dealing with combatting violence done on women and children, it is not something that we are begging the government to do, it is the responsibility of the government in ensuring that these vulnerable categories of persons in the society should be given that adequate protection through the enactment of credible laws and mechanisms for protection. It appears from an appreciation of the situation on the fields that even in the next 100 years, it will be difficult for the said government to combat this silent crime affecting seriously the status and rights of these categories of persons. The laws that were supposed to be organized and positioned to handle these plagues of violence done on women is in their own essence confused and problematic. It will be impossible and practically difficult in solving a given problem especially those affecting women and children in a scattered manner.

Cameroon itself is confused on it when combating violence done to women and children as at one-point reference is made to the Universal Declaration on Human Right, on another point they refer to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination done on the women, the Maputo Protocol, the Convention on the Right of the Child and a Host of other laws. At the Cameroonian level, we have the Penal Code taking care of criminal matters; the Labour Code is also there, Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, Civil Status Registration Ordinance, Civil Code, and many others. These laws and instruments are really scattered and pathetic to an extent that rendering protection and promotion of female and children rights is difficult. Why could these laws not be harmonizing to save the interest at hand? What difference that violence on women and children have that should be scatter in this manner? We all know the initial difficulty that one may face when handling issues dealing with violence done on women and children in our society, lots of problems and harmful practices are meted on these categories of persons making it questionable.

When we start mixing and scattering laws here and there, how do we expect in combating this common problem that is experienced everywhere in which handling and solving it is not an issue of immediate responsiveness. The laws and instruments in Cameroon handling issues of domestic violence should be responsible and organized if they really want to combat this tribulation done on women and children in Cameroon. We are not refusing or denying in any way that these laws should not exist, for they really occupy a place in every society that wants to be prospective and developed in situation of protection and promotion of human rights especially those pertaining to women and children rights. Our problem or worry here is in the manner in which the laws are disperse and disband, making it difficult for combating to really take place in the domain of women and children rights. Cameroon should bear with us that the system of our laws is the problem they are facing in handling cases related to combating violence done on women as a whole.

The Problem of Harmonizing Domestic Legislation with International Legal Instruments.

There has been complains in the manner in which instruments and laws have been scattered here and there in issues related to combating domestic violence in Cameroon. Others are complaining about the discrepancies in the instruments on Violence on Women in Cameroon. The question we should be asking is regarding the determination of what have been done domestically in handling this pandemic tackling women and children rights in Cameroon. The State of Cameroon has established a series of proliferated laws, legal provisions, and institutions having overlapped mandates in various documents regarding the protection of women and children rights in its territory. Despite the available laws, international instruments have remained the main instruments that should be used by this State in regulating the treatment of women and children within the State. With all these laws, for a long period, women have continued to experience oblivion and obsoleted practices done on their fundamental human right and status.

Women and children in Cameroon continue to experience aspects of violence, discrimination, and illegal practice on their womanhood which has become of questionable character. Blames in it all should not be apportioned on all these laws that the State of Cameroon has enacted and established on issues related to women violence. Our main problem and concern here is establishing whether all these laws from civil, labor, criminal, customarily and otherwise are adopted in a way that complies with those prescribed by international instruments to which Cameroon is a party and signatory. Take for example we have the main law governing children rights on the international scene that is the Convention on the Right of the Child principal instrument on children rights. Having good laws and instruments on our national laws that deal with children right, there is no conformity as to that related to international law.

Cameroon has failed to create a comprehensive legal regime that protects victims and holds perpetrator accountable. The supposed family law that was drafted in 1997 to address issues of domestic violence has not yet been adopted. Even with those laws and instruments that are existing in the country in handling issues of violence done on women are not even harmonized to correspond with prescription stipulated by international law. We see aspects of laws on women rights in different instruments in the country. At a point in time, there is the Penal Code, Labor Code, Matrimonial Causes Act, Civil Status Registration Ordinance, and others that gave their own different interpretation on what will amount to violations on these women rights which in no way corresponds with those on the main instrument dealing with women's rights. We are talking here of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women being the lone international Instruments dealing with women right in which Cameroon has signed and ratified. This instruments makes provision on the manner its expect State to handle treatment given to women, and even goes further in stipulated the various rights of women in which every State should observe and respect. The situation becomes even precarious and devastating in laws dealing with children rights. Looking at the Convention of the Rights of the child which try in providing a definition on what will amount to child, by stating that anyone below the age of 18 will be considered as a child (Article 1 of the Convention of the Right to a Child defines a child as anyone under the age of 18).

Looking at article 52 of the Civil Code which provides that the minimum age of a girl to get married is 15, and the boys 18 becomes contradictory. Here looking at the convention on the rights of a child provides that any marriage celebrated where the girl is below the age of 18 will be considered as force marriage which needs to be cancelled and considered as violation on the right of a girl child. It becomes worrisome when Cameroon has signed and ratified this Convention on the Rights of the Child and is still unable to draft its laws in conformity with those of the Convention. This is just one of the difficulties encountered which has made the fight difficult. There are lots of other cases and circumstances like that of labor relationship where the Labor Code as obscure and obsolete as it is does complies to the international prescription placed and welcomed by the provisions of the International Labor Organization in which Cameroon equally is a signatory and party to.

There are lots of violations and abuses of female worker's rights in Cameroon because the country has failed in meeting up the standard put in place by international legal instruments on issues related to employment and treatment of workers. We are not saying that the country should totally use the provisions of the international laws and instruments on their domestic maneuver and recognition, but we believe most of these international instruments are like a standard and model that every country that wants to protect and promote human rights should use as a guide and mirror. Combatting is not something we just sit and accomplish without a guide, in which the State of Cameroon has failed in its various commitments when issues of violence against women are concerned. There is a lot a country stands to gain when respecting the provisions of international laws and dispositions in which the same country has signed and ratified. The lack of harmonization of domestic laws to that of international prescription has really been a threat to combatting the crime in question. It will be difficult in combatting violence against women if domestic legislations do not cooperate with those of international law as it is always from laws and instruments that a country will be inspired in forming its own laws and regulations.

The Mixed Application of Legal and Regulatory Provisions by Societal Actors.

There is always a mixed or confusing understanding when dealing with legal and monitoring mechanisms used by the so called community or social actors when dealing or treating issues related to violence on women. They failed to understand that the laws are there to establish that there is a need to combat violence done on women. The provision of the law is just a theory that needs implementation on the side of the social actors or community sponsors on women rights. Therefore, it becomes the responsibilities and duties of these social actors by reminding the State that it is their obligation and duty to ensure that provisions of the legal instruments in which they are not only signatory but equally ratified should be respected. What these entire social actors need is to provide for the regulatory provisions which need to be provided. It is really essential that the regulatory provisions cannot exist without those of the legal provisions, but when mixing the two of them it becomes confusing and cumbersome. What we need most especially is the regulatory provision as to what should be done in combatting or handling issues related to violence done on women as a whole. When reference of both concepts is done at the same time it becomes confusing, so it should be independently. The social actors should be more interested in the respect and enforcement of the law by the State rather than talking on both legal and regulatory provisions. The laws are there, and in need of regulatory frameworks for existence. At this point in time, what the actors should rather be talking about is on the regulatory frameworks by ensuring that the provisions stipulated down in the relevant legal instruments stated down by the State of Cameroon should be respected and enforced. Emphasizing on the regulatory provisions of the law is more important than having a look as to legal provisions even though both of them are important when dealing with combatting violence against women. The diversified application and both the legal and regulatory provisions have made combatting this offence or crime to be difficult or hectic.

The Coexistence of Written Law and Custom.

The tendency is that violence on women has been stipulated in series of laws ranging from legal to customary. In every given society, there are two laws which are written and customary laws that govern that society. The same situation or scenario exists in Cameroon where there are present written laws (the most important one to emphasis on is the 1996 Constitution which is consider as the highest law of the law which other laws have their inspirations) spelled out in relevant legal documents such as the constitution, labor code, criminal code, civil status registration order and others. The fact that issues of customary laws have been existing for a very long time and the practice has been carried out by the people; the existence of written laws to check elements of customary law becomes questionable. Even though the provision of Section 27 is clear as to these customs that are incompatible with the written laws of the land should be questionable as it is consider as repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience. These written laws in the country have been considered by many as a threat to the existing customary practices. It is not really a bad issue of mentioning the laws that deal with violence against women whether these laws are written or customary. But when dealing with aspects of combatting, we believe laws should be used separately. What the State should be doing to these communities who are so indented to these harmful practices is by telling the people about the ills and consequences that the eradication of these harmful practices will have on the status and right of the women rather than talking about the law. The custom or tradition is the bone of contention here and not the law where those combatting should lay emphasis on.

Combatting and suppressing these harmful practices that affect the status and right of the women is a complex and complicated issue that needs lots of precaution in handling. It becomes the responsibility of the State to ensure to fight them even though eradication will be impossible. The existence of the laws on violence should be used diligently in its application and one should be used differently from the other. The law laid down (the positive law or the lex lata) must be separated from the laws as it ought to be (natural law or otherwise known as the lex feranda) when dealing with issue of combatting. There can never be a proper correlation between the written laws and customary laws when issues of combatting are concerned. The mixing up and coexistence of the legal text and customary law will be confusing and demanding sometimes.

The Reluctance of the Judicial Actors.

The problem sometimes is not at the level of identifying, discrepancies and complex nature of the laws that deals with domestic violence. The most difficult issue is at the level of those who are supposed to enforce and implement these laws put in place by the legal text. They hesitate and even sometimes are unwilling in ensuring that the laws should be implemented. Most of them do not even see the necessity of intervening on issues related to the family as they believe the family is the most important unit or organ of the society that need maximum protection and safety, and they believe the dispute between the spouses can be resolve amicably rather than pushing the offender of the violence which in most cases is the husband. The issue of rape that is provided in our Penal Code which talks of punishing the rapist for an imprisonment term of five to ten years is a fallacy when dealing with issues related to marital rape. We know that issue of sexual intercourse is one of the duties attached to couples after the solemnity or celebration of the marriage, and under no circumstances should this right be violated and a refusal to consummate the marriage can be consider a valid ground for the granting of a divorce. The family being unique should be protected by everyone including the law enforcement officers. If those who are supposed to ensure that those who commit this crime on women, are the same people who are reluctant in solving or handling the problem, then there is a serious problem and which will automatically have an impact on combatting.

The victims of the rape incident or other related violent will always be affected as the judicial actors become reticent to its combat. The laws have provided room or circumstances in order for those who commit that violence on women to be punishable, and it thus left for the judicial actors like the court, law officials and other enforcement officer in ensuring total application on the legal texts and laws, but every day we see cases of female violations being ignored and even avoided by these officers. This reluctant nature or aspect of domestic violence actions by the judicial actors constitutes a discouraging aspect of most of the women who do not even see the need of reporting cases of violence to these actors as they know that nothing will be done concerning them, and thus continuous violations. We believe the judicial actors should be capable of doing what they are vested by the law when issues of domestic violence are concerned. A criminal is a criminal whether it is the husband or wife. There is the need to impose on them punishment in case of violence on the woman. What about the situation where the actors of the judiciary are men, it makes it difficult for implementation and combatting.

Most men believe that women are property (customary law position of the law as to property rights which sees women as property and according to this law a property like woman cannot own a property), and how can property own a property, and because of this the judicial officer's loos at women as inferior thereby finding it difficult to provide a solution to the existing problem faced by women. The issue of adultery provided for in Section 361 of the Penal Code as Criminal is insignificant when it comes to the law enforcement officials. They still have the conception that man by nature or from the origin are polygamist, and committing adultery on the part of the man or husband is but normal which needs not to over emphasize. The provision itself is problematic as it provides that for the men to be punished for the act of adultery, the act should have been committed in their homes or elsewhere habitually. This is falsified and pushed environment for the supposed law enforcement officers to violate the law. The law says for adultery to be committed elsewhere, it must be habitual as to the men. So when women report cases of adultery to the judicial actors, they are reluctant in the context of this provision and sometimes even ignore the law as they claim that they cannot be proof of adultery since having direct evidence as to adultery is always difficult.

The lack of litigation