International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 4, No. 12; October 2014 1 Domestic Violence against Women in Ghana: An Exploratory Study in Upper West Region, Ghana Isaac Dery University for Development Studies Faculty of Education Box 520, Wa, Ghana Africanus L. Diedong University for Development Studies Faculty of Integrated Development Studies Box 520, Wa Ghana Abstract As elsewhere, domestic violence is prevalent in Ghana. This paper was conducted in the Upper West Region of Ghana and aimed to explore domestic violence from the perspectives of adult men and women. The study participants were selected based on purposive sampling. Due to its qualitative nature, 20 married male and female participants were recruited for the study. The data was obtained through in-depth semi-structured interviews. Participants reported that domestic violence is a serious issue in the study area and 60% believed that it may not be justifiable. Eighteen participants identified husbands as main instigators of domestic violence. Participants thought that violence could have far-reaching effects. To understand comprehensively domestic violence in Ghana, we should explore some socio-demographic variables. Based on this study's findings, further research could use more representative sample (from all 10 regions of Ghana), employ more feminist ethnographic methodologies, and incorporate longitudinal designs in order to gain more in-depth perspectives on domestic violence. A more nuanced study could be carried out to investigate the relationship between domestic violence and education, as the present study suggests that education significantly decreases domestic violence. Keywords: Domestic, violence, patriarchy, feminist, Upper West Region 1.0 Introduction In Ghana, there has been a burgeoning recognition among academic discourses coupled with a depth of commitment by the government of [Ghana] through the ratification of myriad of international conventions and the promulgation of several national policy and legal reforms in recent decades (for example, Domestic Violence Act 732, [2007]; Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit-DOVVSU [formerly Women And Juvenal Unit 2003]; 1992 Constitution, among others) that serve as measures to combat domestic violence. However, despite the plethora of international and national efforts, the issue of domestic violence still remains a significant social pandemic in Ghana, perhaps due to the patriarchal nature of the country (Meursing et al., 1995; WHO, 2005). Although there is dual discourse surrounding domestic violence where both men and women could claim victimhood (Archer, 2002; White et al., 2000), on the whole, the abuse is often asymmetrical (Dobash et al., 1992; Heise et al., 1994) and women tend to resort to violence as a defensive tool rather than an offensive act often following a repeated assaultive attacks by their male partners (Dasgupta, 2002; Bott et al. 2005). As Ogle et al. (1995) argue, women are socialised to regard their heterosexual relationship as a key component of their identity and self-worth, and may strive to preserve the relationship at all costs, even in the worst of abusive circumstances, when they have economic ability to escape. Notwithstanding this, it is important to remember that domestic violence constitutes a violation of the fundamental human rights of women, thus it hinders the achievement of gender equity and equality in a dominant patriarchal society (ICRW, 2009; UNICEF, 2000). Despite the high and pervasive incidence of domestic violence in Ghana, there is a paucity of empirically-driven research on it; hence the problem remains largely unexplored.