THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: THE CASE OF MEYYU MULUKKE DISTRICT, EAST HARARGHE ZONE, OROMIA REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Domestic violence against women is a pervasive and expanding issue. It manifests itself in a variety of ways, takes many forms, and occurs in all societies. Many studies were conducted on the issue, focusing only on the magnitudes and prevalence; it usually fails to contribute much to the understanding of the subject matter because the issue of domestic abuse is deeply rooted within the social structure that needs deep investigation. This study was conducted to describe the lived experiences of women victims of domestic violence through a qualitative approach with a phenomenological research design by using in-depth interviews, key informant interviews, and case stories as data collection methods. An in-depth interview was carried out with ten women who were victims of domestic violence; three key informants’ and one case story were appropriate for the study. The collected data were analyzed by phenomenological thematic analysis. The findings of the study show that in the study area women suffered a great deal from a variety of acts of domestic violence because of patriarchal attitudes, societal norms of society, the practice of polygyny marriage, economic factors, and jealousy of their husbands. The results of the study also state that hitting women with an object, slapping or kicking with the leg, intimidation, insulting, marital rape, and denial of access to and use of resources are among the various types of domestic violence that affect women physically, psychologically, and economically. As the results of the study revealed, women use different mechanisms to overcome the act of domestic violence they experience and the associated problems, like keeping silent, reporting, asking for support, leaving the home, and praying to God. Therefore, it is recommended that government, non-governmental organizations, and religious institutions coordinately need to give due attention and remedial actions and programs to overcome the problem of domestic abuse committed against women