Ghana is considering the adoption of a bill currently in parliament which is to be called the Domestic Violence Act. This Bill if passed to law may cause the breaking up of several families. Section 1 paragraph B states as follows: (a) Specific acts or, threats to commit, or acts likely to result in (i) physical assult or any use of physical force against another person including the forcible confinement or detention of another person and the deprivation of another person of access to adequate food, water, clothing, shelter, rest, or subjecting another person to torture or any other cruel, inhuman degrading treatment or punishment; (ii) Sexual abuse. namely the forceful engagement of another person in any sexual conduct that abuses, humiliates or degrades the other person or likewise violates another person's sexual intergrity whether married or not or any sexual contact by a person aware of being infected with HIV or any other STD with another person without that person being given prior information of that infection;

(iii) Economic abuse, namely the deprivation or threatened deprivation of economic or financial resources which a person is entitled to by law, the disposition or threatened disposition of moveable or immoveable property in which another person has a material interest and hiding or hindering the use of property or damaging or destroying property in which another person has a material interest; and

(iv) emotional, verbal or psychological abuse namely any conduct that makes another person feel constantly unhappy, miserable, humiliated, ridiculed, afraid, jittery or depressed or to feel inadequate or worthless.

This bill is asking that anybody found guilty of this offences is to be fined 500 penalty points or two years imprisonment or both. The offender is also to be banned from within 50 metres of the victim. So let's say I get home one night and I want sex and my wife says no, I am supposed to sleep or take a cold shower because I am not expected to commit adultery and if I do and I am caught it leads to divorce. If, however, I dont sleep, and because the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent taketh it by force, so I take it by force, I am to pay 500 penalty points at 50,000 cedis a point which is about 820 naira or spend two years in jail or pay the penalty points and still go to jail.

The bill is asking that when I come home and there is no food I am not supposed to raise my voice at my cook and ask for food. The bill is asking that when my wife spends 6 hours in a beauty salon I cant order her not to do that again because it will constitute verbal abuse. The bill is asking that if I have a quarrel with my wife I am to be arrested because I am not giving her rest. The bill is asking that i cannot tell my son to stop being stupid. It is asking that I cannot spank my daughter for some childish foolery in order to correct her. And this is just part 1 paragraph B. I am a Nigerian living in Ghana and obviously I will have a girlfriend who is Ghanaian. So any attempt for me to tell my girlfriend who has caused me so much grief to get out of my house is defined as domestic violence for which I get two years imprinsoment or a fine or both. Nigerians what do you think?

Nairaland is 100% against domestic violence in any form and for any reason. Nothing further to discuss.