According to a study by Demographic Health Survey (DHS), up to 85% of all documented cases of gender-based violence (GBV) involve women who are married to alcoholics.
Rwanda’s Minister of Gender and Family Promotion Jeannette Bayisenge, cited these findings while speaking before Rwanda’s parliament on Tuesday to answer questions about domestic conflicts and societal problems.
The study stipulates that alcoholic men are more likely to commit GBV-related crimes and are more likely to have picked up the behavior from their fathers.
Moreover, the study reveals that 54 percent of men who abuse their wives were raised in homes where women were mistreated.
“The problems facing the family have their roots in our way of thinking as a society, which is shaped by the way we grow up, education, religion and the media,” the Minister was quoted by Rwandan media.
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Furthermore, the minister noted that there are efforts to change the current trend. According to Bayisenge, the deconstruction of the rooted gender perceptions will take a long time to yield the desired changes.
Furthermore, the study stipulates that 15 percent of GBV incidents are not linked to alcoholism.