Wife Abuse in Sierra Leone: Polygamous Marriages in a Dual Legal System

Autor: Edna Erez, R. Bankole Thompson
Rok vydání: 1994
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice. 18:27-37
ISSN: 2157-6475
0192-4036
DOI: 10.1080/01924036.1994.9689027
Popis: The article discusses spousal abuse in Sierra Leone—a polygamous society whose customary law recognizes the husband's right to physically chastise his wives. The situations in which physical chastisement is called for are presented and other conditions conducive to spousal abuse including marital rape in this polygamous society are discussed. The general (English) law, which was imposed on this society while it was under the British mandate and continues to apply in the independent state of Sierra Leone, recognizes spousal abuse as a criminal assault but applies procedural barriers to prosecuting abusers. The implications of this dual legal system for the reality of spousal abuse are discussed.
Databáze: OpenAIRE