Guilt until proven innocent has become a maxim in most societies (Connery, 2010). In Kenya, the case is no different as all one needs is to shout guilt and the man is hauled to jail or even face the wrath of an angry mob. This does not mean that men are not to blame, however, the dimension in which things are being done nowadays have left men in an awkward position. This paper presents the case of how men use their positions to harm women. However, it goes further to show how they are victimized due to the presumptions that they are the guilt ones.
Male violence against women is the misuse of power in their conduct in their families and other social settings. In Kenyan communities, male violence against women is looked as misconduct in their treatment on women. The major concern of male violence is on domestic violence, sexual harassment, class, and blaming the women in the society. The major causes of male violence are: Poor economic status, unemployment, traditional and cultural beliefs, social classes and the peer influence among social groups as discussed below.
In most families women are taking the responsibilities of raising children as the men can not secure good paying jobs in the poor economic status of the country. Due to this, the women are subjected to perform male duties, at times the male depend on their wives to provide for their financial needs when they cannot earn good income, in case the women resist they are subjected to battery and harassment to give money. Due to the high rate of unemployment in Kenya, men are taking advantage over women as they cannot make a living and therefore are desperately looking for money. As a result, they are subjected into sexual harassment by men who use their money to trap the women into their needs. Although this might be true, the reverse is also true and rarely is it magnified in the media (Gatobu, 2003).
Traditional and other cultural believes is another major cause of male violence against women. The male chauvinism is a vice that most men portray against women in societies, men believes that it’s the women to provide for the family and work hard to feed their men, this has
greatly subjected women to suffer violence as the men force them to give what they cannot. Another traditional view is on the believe that men pay dowry to the women’s parents and therefore they are entitled to treat them as they wish and the women are their assets and this is
also influenced by the family classes of the spouses. Male violence against women is also portrayed in offices where the management is headed by men bosses, the women, therefore, fall victim of harassment on men in order to accept offers and to get promotions. Also in cases of poor performance women subordinates are blamed for even if it is for men. However, cases of women harassing men are hardly repotted. When they are, the men are accused of being cowards (Gatobu, 2003).
Peer influence and social class differences among various groups is another major concern on male violence against women. The bad habits that the youths engage in greatly contribute to the vice of violence. These include drinking and drug taking at an early age, watching unethical movies like violence and pornographic materials, which stimulates the bad behaviors among the youths. Another cause of male violence against women is the spousal differences in families, due to the fear that women harbor concerning men (Gatobu, 2003). However, women are known to mistreat their spouses and in some cases deny them their conjugal rights.
As a result, men are guilty of seen in bad light nowadays. Several have been lynched on the streets, battered by angry mobs and hauled into prisons for long years with little evidence. Increased women judges on the bench have worsened the matter. All that a woman needs is a small difference with the husband or a boyfriend, and the case takes a different dimension. Children are rooming the streets of Nairobi without fathers as the women wreck havoc on every known family value. Indeed, men have become guilt unless proven otherwise.