American Journal of Sociological Research 2013, 3(3): 53-60 DOI: 10.5923/j.sociology.20130303.01 Domestic Violence and Death: Women as Endangered Gender in Nigeria Adebayo Anthony Abayomi * , Kolawole, Taiwo Olabode Department of Sociology, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria Abstract Domestic violence against women is a global issue that transcends national, cultural, racial and class boundaries. It is a menace that is deeply entrenched in the society and has led to the sudden death of many women across the globe. Statistics show that at least every year in the United States, 1,000 to 1,600 women die at the hands of their male partners, often after a long, escalating pattern of battering. This estimated number of deaths due to intimate partner violence does not include those women who kill themselves to exit violent relationships, or who die homeless on the streets in their attempt to avoid violent husbands. In Nigeria also, many women have died, brutalised or maimed for life by their violent male counterparts. This paper studies the causative factors of violent assaults suffered by women in the homes. In-depth interview and Newspaper reports were used in obtaining data during the study. The study reveals that the Patriachal nature of society which tends to give ownership of the women to the men is largely responsible for the brutalization of women and also proffers strategies for the eradication the social malaise in Nigeria. The study made use of Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory in its analysis. Keywords Death, Domestic, Nigeria, Violence, Women 1. Introduction There are various dimensions of Violence against Women as the following definition in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action shows: “any act of gender based violence that results in or 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”[1]. There have been serious of efforts to address this menace. These include five International Legal Instruments that deal extensively with the issue of violence against women. They include: the Declaration of the Elimination of Violence Against Women, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1993, the Platform for Action from the United Nations fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, the Convention on the Elimination of A ll Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 1979, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights 1945, the Vienna Declaration and World Conference on Human Rights 1993. Violence against women can happen anywhere, on the street, in the work place, at home or at school. There is also systemic violence in which certain acts of violence against women are accepted as part of cultural or * Corresponding author: adebayo_nthny@yahoo.com (Adebayo Anthony Abayomi) Published online at http://journal.sapub.org/sociology Copyright © 2013 Scientific & Academic Publishing. All Rights Reserved traditional practices. Patriarchy made man the centre of society right from the level of family unit to the larger public sphere; consequently authority is derived from the male. Violence against women is evident in many forms, including domestic, verbal and physical abuse, rape and sexual assault, early and forced marriages, incest, female genital cutting, acid baths and outright killing. From the workplace to the home, women continue to suffer all forms of degradation and deprivation. Women were seen by the male factory workers as threat to their employment. As early as 1841, committee of male factory workers called for the ‘gradual withdrawal of all female labour in the factory’. In 1842, the Mines Act banned the employment of women as miners. In 1851, one in four married women were employed; but by 1911 this figure was reduced to one in ten.[2] This discrimination in the workplace manifests itself in the form of violence in the homes. Some men see their wives as rivals. According to Hacker (1972), with the employment of women as wage earners, men were quick to perceive them as a rival group and make use of economic, legal and ideological weapons to eliminate or reduce their competition.[3] However, some men resort to violence to address the supposed rivalry. Violence against women has been a serious problem in most societies throughout history. Women in Africa, like their counterparts the world over, suffer domestic violence irrespective of class, age, religion or social status.[4] Incidents of domestic violence include battery, beatings, torture, acid baths, rape, and even death through honour