2000 men beaten up by wives

History is being made, as more men are coming out to report cases of abuse by their spouses.

Over 2,000 cases of abuse of men by their female partners were recorded last year, according to statistics on domestic violence released by the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the police.

Public Relations Officer of DOVVSU, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Freeman Tettey, who disclosed this to the Times in Accra yesterday, said "the abuses against men included causing harm, physical assault and a few cases of the women abandoning their children in the care of the husbands."

ASP Tettey said the men were physically attacked by the women with objects such as sticks, cutlasses and hot pressing irons for reasons among which jealousy was dominant.

"Although many more men are now reporting assault cases to the unit, women are still by far the most victims of abuse. We recorded 2,017 abuse cases against men and 12,316 against women last year," ASP Tettey said.

In 2009, there were 2,568 reported cases of abuse against men as opposed to 14,428 against women.

He said most men did not retaliate in such attacks, and appealed to them to report to DOVVSU any kind of abuse against them.

"The unit is not there for only women, but to seek justice for all in cases of violence against anyone," ASP Tettey stressed.

On other cases of abuse, he said non-maintenance of children, assault, threat of death and defilement were the major ones reported last year.

There were 5,036 cases of non-maintenance, 3,318 assault cases, 1,048 threat and 1,080 defilement cases.

Others were rape 318, sodomy six, compulsory marriage 482, attempted abortion 20, murder 24, exposing children to harm 136, and abduction 267.

ASP Tettey said it was important for society to provide the needs of children to grow and become good citizens, adding that failure to do that could increase crime which would not augur well for the country's development.

"Children have the right to shelter, education and health, without which they would end up on the streets and become deviants in the society. It is the duty of parents and other stakeholders to cater for the needs of children," he said.

ASP Tettey said the public should not hesitate to report to the police, parents who neglected the wellbeing of their children.

He said the police through its sensitisation programmes, would educate the public on domestic violence issues to reduce the menace in the country.

He appealed to stakeholders such as the religious bodies to help in both the spiritual and physical growth of children.