Source: Leadership
Domestic violence is a matter that has been on the front burner in public discourse. A thin line separates it from domestic murder which can be pre-meditated or simply accidental.

By definition domestic violence and emotional abuse are behaviours used by one person in a relationship to control the other. Partners may be married or not married, heterosexual, gay, or lesbian, living together, separated or dating. Such abuse may be in name-calling or putdowns, keeping a partner from contacting their family or friends, withholding money, stopping a partner from getting or keeping a job, actual or threatened physical harm, sexual assault, stalking and intimidation.

Lately, there have been cases of domestic violence, some of them celebrated because death occurred. Violence by whatever definition is condemnable. Worse is when it is inflicted on a supposed loved one. This is why in such circumstances, resort is made to psychiatry examination to find out why anyone will want to subject someone to such dehumanising situation. It must be noted that anyone can be a victim, especially in a homestead. In a domestic violence that involves husband and wife, chances are that the man is immediately adjudged the villain because, in most cases, he goes physical. But at times, torture as typified by emotional or psychological abuse can be more devastating.

However, no condition can justify the act of violence on anyone, male or female. Managing domestic violence as it affects a marital situation ought to start in the early stages of a relationship. What you cannot tolerate in a courtship, don't imagine that it will be more tolerable when the relationship is consummated in marriage. If anything at all, it will manifest itself even more dangerously then.
The time to be concerned about the psychiatric status of a partner is not when he or she is dead, but when alive and has the ability to run and avoid the torture and even death.

However, when such acts of violence occur, we think it will be in the interest of justice and good conscience to get to the bottom of it all to find out the root cause(s). We suggest that the resort to media trial of either of the partners must be avoided by all means, even at the sight of blood. Furthermore, it is our opinion that no party in the case when it arises is prejudged guilty until proved so beyond all shadow of doubt as in the case cited above. It is, we believe, a violation of all that is fair and just to carry out punitive measures against one of the parties on the basis of meddlesome tendencies of whosoever.

• Nigeria