Athens Journal of Social Sciences- Volume 6, Issue 1 – Pages 19-34 
 
Intimate Partner Violence Impacts University 
Students in Ghana 
 
*
By Margaret Ivy Amoakohene  
† 
Marquita Smith
‡
Gilbert K. M. Tietaah  
 
Intimate partner violence cuts across cultures and types of relationships. While the 
phenomenon has received considerable academic attention in many contexts, few 
scholarly works exist in Ghana. This research project was limited to tertiary level students 
at Ghana’s premier university. The study, using open-ended qualitative questions, 
examined the phenomenon from a multidimensional perspective as it affects both male and 
female in dating relationships. Additionally, the study attempts to fill a gap in the 
literature by examining abuse in relationships between largely unmarried intimate 
partners in a university. It also pushes beyond the academic realm and offers a guide for 
practice, by establishing a public relations campaign targeted to the university students. 
Researchers investigated the scope and types of intimate partner violence among students 
in dating relationships, students described experiencing physical and emotional abuse, 
citing reasons for continuing non-healthy relationships. This study seeks to understand 
why university-educated victims remain in abusive relationships. 
 
Keywords: abusive relationships, dating relationships, Ghana, Intimate partner violence, 
university students. 
 
 
Introduction 
 
Civil society leaders and government officials around the world continue to 
announce that violence against women and girls is a human rights matter. From a 
policy concern, the persistence of domestic violence threatens the achievement of 
gender equality, and for Ghana it presents a challenge in achieving the Sustainable 
Development Goal 5 of gender equity. Moreover, domestic or partner violence 
results in poor emotional and physical health, along with higher risks of sexually 
transmitted diseases, decline in human development and lower productivity 
(Garcia-Moreno et al. 2006, Moosa 2012). In 2008, 38.7 of ever-married Ghanaian 
women between the ages of 15 and 49 had experienced physical, emotional or 
sexual violence by a husband or partner at some point in their lives. Although 
much of the information and policies on domestic violence focus on women and 
girls, men and boys were also affected. In fact, a number of Ghanaian males have 
reported experiencing physical or emotional violence perpetrated by their wife or 
                                                     
*
Senior Lecturer, Department of Communication Studies, College of Education, University of 
Ghana, Ghana. 
†
Associate Professor, Department of Communication, John Brown University, USA. 
‡
Lecturer, Department of Communication Studies, College of Education, University of Ghana, 
Ghana. 
https://doi.org/10.30958/ajss.6-1-2                                         doi=10.30958/ajss.6-1-2 
Vol. 6, No. 1    Amoakohene et al.: Intimate Partner Violence Impacts University… 
 
partner.  The purpose of this qualitative study, however, is to provide an in-depth 
understanding of partner/domestic violence in Ghana and what messages are 
communicated resulting in such violence, particularly among university students. 
It is our hope that this project will increase advocacy, promote policy and 
education, countering such violence in Ghana.  
The World Health Organization (2012) defines intimate violence in terms of 
behavior that results in physical or psychological harm to a partner in the 
relationship. Wingood et al. (2000: 270) also define intimate partner abuse as 
„physical or sexual assault by a husband, intimate partner, or ex-intimate partner. 
In reality, the most common perpetrators of violence against women have been 
found to be male intimate partners or ex-partners although women are sometimes 
also violent (WHO 2012). Previous research indicates that women are both victims 
and perpetrators of intimate partner abuse, a phenomenon which occurs in all 
settings and among all socioeconomic, religious and cultural groups (Amoakohene 
2004, Appiah and Cusack 1999) making it widespread in all countries (WHO 
2012). According to Truman and Morgan (2016), the U.S. Bureau of Justice 
Statistics showed 57.9 of IPV cases in 2014 and 54.1 in 2015. As one of the most 
common forms of violence against women, it includes physical, sexual, and 
emotional abuse as well as controlling behaviors by an intimate partner (Garcia-
Moreno et al. 2006).  
McHugh and Frieze (2006: 121), however, note that widespread changes have 
occurred, in the consciousness of people regarding intimate partner abuse dating 
back to the 1970s when feminists called attention to the problem of husbands 
beating their wives. They further indicated: 
 
Over the past 35 years, approaches to domestic violence have evolved from 
viewing the problem as limited to a very few problematic marriages, and 
disbelieving and blaming battered women, to recognizing the prevalence of 
serious levels of physical violence and psychological abuse in many intimate 
relationships (p. 121). 
 
The researchers found that early conceptions of the phenomenon centered on 
the initial focus of physical violence experienced by married, heterosexual women 
hence the use of such terms as “wife abuse” and “domestic violence.” They have, 
however, noted differences in their conceptualization.  
In Ghana, as elsewhere, only a few studies (Appiah and Cusack 1999, 
Amoakohene 2004) have documented intimate partner abuse among married 
women. However, no known study has documented or reported on abuse while 
dating or in unmarried relationships. The present study attempts to fill that void by 
examining abuse in relationships between largely unmarried intimate partners at 
the tertiary or university level. Since Amoakohene‟s (2004) study, governmental 
(principally the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and the 
Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit [DOVVSU] of the Ghana Police 
Service) and non-governmental organizations have engaged in interventions to 
limit the violence in Ghana. Focused on students at a Ghanaian university, our 
study sought to investigate the scope and types of intimate partner violence among 
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Athens Journal of Social Sciences January 2019 
 
students in dating relationships. It also sought to understand if, and why, victims 
might continue in such relationships in spite of their high educational levels. 
 
 
Literature Review 
 
A review of the literature on intimate partner relationships showed the 
prevalence of violence against women, especially within western societies (Garcia- 
Moreno et al. 2006) is well documented. In comparison, efforts to document the 
situation in developing nations were less common (WHO 2012, Amoakohene 
2004, Jewkes 2002). Amoakohene‟s (2004) study reported and discussed 
perceptions of educated, married and employed women in Ghana of acts of 
violence in marriages as well as policy responses available to protect victims. She 
identified similarities and differences in the types of violence suffered by women 
irrespective of their education or socioeconomic standing. The women regarded 
intimate partner violence as normal occurrences in marriage relationships, and 
consequently, victims of such abuses were unlikely to report violent acts to law 
enforcement agencies. This behavior was attributed to socio-cultural constructions 
of the Ghanaian society which appeared to disapprove of them reporting the acts 
of violence. Government and civil society organization interventions, sensitizing 
and educating women to distinguish between culture and human rights, played a 
minimal role in curbing violence.  
On the contrary, statistics from the Domestic Violence Unit of the Ghana 
Police Service, however, show an increasing trend of female-to-male violence. 
The Unit‟s 2013 statistics showed 770 reported cases of husband or male partner 
victims of physical abuse, an increase from 725 or 6.2 in 2012. In 2014, those 
numbers skyrocketed to 3,143 cases or 75.5 of male physical abuse. In 2015 that 
number decreased 2,807 or 12%. Most of these incidents occurred during 
Christmas, Easter and other festive seasons as well as the re-opening of school. 
Domestic violence officials observed that money for school fees and for purchasing 
new items usually generated arguments that triggered assault. Moreover, Jewkes 
observed that one of two factors, "the unequal position of women in a particular 
relationship (and in society) and the normative use of violence in conflict" (2002: 
1426) worked together with others to cause intimate partner violence. She 
disclaimed survey findings that suggested social and demographic features, 
including age and education, as risk factors associated with the phenomenon. 
Instead, she identified poverty as an exceptional demographic factor associated 
with increased risk of intimate partner violence.   
 
Students Report IPV Situations 
 
One area of focus on intimate partner violence (IPV) for researchers has 
been the nature and attitudes of college students towards IPV. Employing the 
“bystander model,” Branch et al. (2013) in a survey involving freshmen college 
students discovered that about 54% were likely to report IPV should they 
witness a friend or colleague suffering it. This finding was an illustration of the 
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assumption that by equipping students with information on how to recognize 
the symptoms of IPV and whom to report such issues to, they were likely to 
report it if they realized that a friend was experiencing it.  
Katz et al. (2011) found that high school students who had been exposed to 
the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) – assumptions of this model are 
similar to those of the bystander model – were more likely to intervene and 
report whenever they encountered situations involving more aggressive types 
of behavior. In the survey, they employed the Likert-type scale and asked 
students questions such as how wrong they considered certain actions such as 
“telling jokes that make fun of women and girls” and how likely they were to 
take action to stop such a behavior.   
Koelsch et al. (2012), in focus group discussions, studied the likelihood of 
university students intervening to prevent the perpetuation of sexual violence 
during parties. They discovered that although most of the participants in the 
study, male students in particular, believed it was the responsibility of women 
to ensure their safety and that of their friends at parties. The study revealed that 
most students were armed with intervention strategies such as reporting the 
incident to the authorities, and they were willing to engage these strategies as 
bystanders. 
 
Students Experience Various Forms of IPV 
 
Investigating types of IPV students suffered, consequences and predicators of 
IPV, Umana, Fawole and Adeoye (2014) studied the prevalence of IPV among 
students of University of Ibadan, Nigeria. After surveying female students who 
resided in hostels on campus, the researchers estimated that the prevalence lifetime 
of IPV experience was 42.3%, with majority of the students (41.8%) reporting that 
they had suffered psychological abuse; 7.9% and 6.6% reporting physical and 
sexual violence respectively. Types of physical injuries sustained included cuts, 
punctures, bites (55%); scratches, abrasions, bruises (48.3%); sprains, dislocations 
(18.3%), while psychological effects of IPV experienced included loss of 
concentration (71.1%), loss of self-confidence (68.9%) and school absenteeism 
(56%). The study also established a correlation between respondents who used 
substances such as alcohol or cigarettes experienced inter-parental violence and 
their attitudes towards IPV. According to the researchers, these persons were more 
likely to suffer IPV than their counterparts; making drugs – alcohol and cigarette – 
and inter-parental violence experiences predictors of IPV.             
Kordom and Arunachallam (2014), like Umana et al. (2014), conducted a 
study into the prevalence and socio-demographic factors associated with IPV 
among undergraduate nursing students in a South African tertiary institution. Their 
survey discovered that students suffered psychological abuse as the highest type of 
abuse (65), followed by financial abuse (39), physical abuse (34) and sexual abuse 
(23) 12 months before the study. Contrary to most research findings which suggest 
that survivors of IPV are usually young, Kordom et al. (2014) discovered that 
respondents within the 35-44 age brackets experienced more IPV than other age 
groups. They argued that this finding could be due to the fact that 35-44-year-olds 
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Athens Journal of Social Sciences January 2019 
 
were either married, cohabiting, separated or divorced – all of which are risk 
factors of IPV – while younger women, although dating, were relatively young, 
unmarried and still under the protection of their parents.    
Barrick et al. (2013), in an online survey, examined which IPV types were 
prevalent among students from various racial groups in Historically Black 
Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and the correlation between certain 
demographic characteristics and other IPV risks and experience of IPV among 
these students. Their study revealed that about 64% of the respondents had 
experienced IPV at least once in the year before the study was conducted. Of this 
percentage age, the majority (63.7) identified verbal or controlling IPV such as 
yelling, screaming, and insulting, 17.8% reported experiencing physical forms of 
IPV such as hitting, slapping, and pushing, and about 1% reported having suffered 
sexual assault. Contrary to Kordom et al. (2014), Barrick et al. (2013) found that 
younger students, more than older ones, were more likely to report IPV 
victimization. Also, compared with married women or those in a form of domestic 
relationship, single women were less likely to report experiencing any IPV type. 
Similar to Umana et al. (2014), Barrick et al (2013) reported that women who 
indicated use of some illicit drug other than marijuana since entering college were 
more likely to experience physical and sexual violence; thereby making use of 
illicit substance a risk factor for IPV. Like Nabors and Jasinski (2009), Barrick et 
al. (2013) discovered that women who had violence socialization, specifically 
sexual assault victimization, were more likely to experience a form of IPV when 
they got to college. Thus, the literature shows similar trends in intimate partner 
violence across different demographic settings and presents a base to study, 
analyze and explain current trends in intimate partner violence among university 
students in developing countries, particularly in places like Ghana where 
patriarchal cultural norms often define social relations among men and women.  
 
 
Methodology 
 
Centered on language and words, focus group methodology is labeled 
qualitative (Creswell 2007). Researchers highlight themes or perspectives, and 
should use specific methods to analyze patterns during the conversation (Creswell 
2007). In our study, 20 focus group discussions were held over a two-week period 
in April 2015. One half (10) of the groups were composed of females; the other 
half comprised male students. Most of the participants were undergraduate 
students. Included also were 10 postgraduate students with ages ranging from 20 
to 30 years. The number of participants in each group ranged between six and 10 a 
respectable standard of practice (Amoakohene 2005, Bernard 2006). Focus group 
conversations occurred at one of Ghana‟s largest public institutions. Participants 
were engaged in their campus living spaces to create a more comfortable 
environment for discussions.  
Qualitative designs require a sampling strategy to assist researchers in 
deciding what questions to ask and whom to ask (Lindolf and Taylor 2002). 
Groups were fairly homogeneous, consisting of students of the same sex, age 
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group, and academic levels, purposively selected to enable group synergies. Thus 
composed, the groups enabled participants to discuss abuses in their relationships 
more openly and candidly with no discernable limitations on personal disclosures 
even of their own involvement as perpetrators. Additionally, students were 
selected using both purposive and snowball sampling which involved participants 
recommending colleagues they knew to be in abusive relationships for inclusion in 
the study. In fulfillment of ethical disclosure obligations, the rationale for the study 
was carefully explained to would-be participants.  
According to Lincoln and Guba (2000), credibility (vs. internal validity) refers 
to the idea of internal consistency, where the concern is ensuring rigor (Gasson 
2004: 95, Lincoln and Guba 2000). To increase credibility, researchers used 
thorough descriptions of source data and the emerging analysis (Geertz 1983). To 
further ensure candor, we acquired consent and offered focus group participants 
complete confidentiality. In each group, the 40-50-minute discussion was recorded. 
Each session was moderated by one researcher. Audio recordings of the discussions 
were subsequently transcribed for thematic analysis (Creswell 2008). The 
institutional ethics board approved the research process.  
Focus group participants had been in relationships lasting between six months 
and five years. The majority of the participants had on average, about three 
relationships each. The average age difference between participants and their 
partners was five years. Apart from one participant who had had two children with 
her partner and another who had one child, no other participants had children. 
Many of the participants had partners outside the university campus (popularly 
called „exter‟ or „externals‟) but saw them frequently. There were many, though, 
whose boyfriends and girlfriends attended the university, a phenomenon generally 
referred to as „inter‟ or „internals.‟  One female participant had been married for a 
year.  
 
 
Findings 
 
In order to provide an in-depth understanding of intimate partner violence 
among university students, we discussed salient issues concerning forms of 
abuse/violence with participants. Abuse ranged from threats, blackmail, and 
financial exploitation to physical assaults. Participants also reported emotional or 
psychological abuse in the form of insults, uncharitable remarks and disinterest by 
partners. Group members also discussed the role of sex in their relationships. In 
fact, male participants reported that they were mostly in intimate relationships 
because of sex, companionship and comfort. Meanwhile female participants were 
primarily in the relationships for companionship, comfort, affection, attention, 
security and financial benefits. For these participants, any assaults on status and 
expectations often constituted abuse. Many of the female participants were victims 
of abuse in their relationships, however; a few admitted they were perpetrators. 
Similarly, the majority of male participants were perpetrators, but a few reported 
that they were also victims.  
 
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Athens Journal of Social Sciences January 2019 
 
Participants Face Emotional/Psychological Abuse 
 
Those who said they suffered emotional or psychological abuse cited insults 
and/or uncomplimentary comments from their partners. Some expressed disinter-
restedness in the relationship which caused one partner to wonder about the other 
partner‟s love and commitment. Although no male participant admitted to being 
emotionally or psychologically abused, it was clear from some of the female 
participants that they sometimes intentionally passed their partners through some 
“emotional torture.” Not only did they find such cases risible, they also felt it as 
pay-back for accumulated wrongs suffered. In one very revealing situation, a 
female participant who appeared to have support of the group said: 
 
What is the big deal if they also go through pain? After all, we (females) go 
through pain almost on a daily basis. If I can‟t beat him physically or hit him I 
also have my trump card and I never fail to use it to my own advantage. I 
know he loves me to bits and will not dare to leave me. … What he hates is to 
find me with another boy or see me chat heartily with any other boy. So, that 
is exactly what I do when I want to pay him back for anything he does 
wrong…  
  
However, for some female participants, emotional abuse was the worst form 
of abuse one could experience. They believed that was the form of abuse that 
touched on one‟s “inner self,” and had the capacity to destroy one‟s own 
conception of who she or he is. According to some participants, emotional abuse 
was “a silent torture” which undermined one‟s ego and self-worth. One participant, 
who had resolved to remain single because she suffered so much emotional abuse 
in all her previous relationships said: 
 
…I prefer to stay single because guys have always abused me emotionally in 
the past. The emotional torture alone, my sister … it‟s not easy at all. … My 
immediate ex would not go anywhere with me. He won‟t introduce me to 
anyone as his girlfriend, he won‟t make me feel special in anyway - no gifts, 
no outings, you know, the hide and seek kind of thing. It was emotionally so 
hurting that I always felt less of a lady. 
 
Women Encounter Threats and Blackmail 
 
Some participants, mainly females, reported receiving threats from and being 
blackmailed by their partners while others expressed fear of losing their lovers. 
Another female participant who felt threatened and was blackmailed by her 
partner, said any time they had disagreements he threatened to publicize some 
naked photographs of herself she had earlier sent to him.  
 
There was this time when I was in level 200 that I sent him some naked 
pictures of myself. I don‟t even know why I did that thing but well we had 
just started dating and it was one of those days. I was in a crazy mood, I was 
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home and I‟d missed him. I guess I thought he was going to delete them after 
watching or something. But he says he just looks at them when maybe he‟s 
horny and I‟m not around or something. But now, anytime we argue he goes 
like if I leave he will make sure everybody sees those pictures. He‟ll disgrace 
me and I‟m like geez that‟s so immature. 
 
Male participants often equated manipulation to abuse. They mentioned 
girlfriends alleging pregnancy and withholding sex. Meanwhile, women described 
major threats of death and slander.  
 
Women Undergo Financial Abuse 
 
Financial abuse was reported in several intimate relationships. Abuse was 
largely reported by females citing cases where their male partners sought to take 
advantage of their resources, especially money, forcing them to share their meager 
incomes and/or allowances. A number of female participants who narrated such 
instances said they felt financially abused by their partners. According to one of 
them: 
 
I was still quite young, I was only 17, and my friends were having boyfriends 
so I also wanted to have a boyfriend. I started a relationship, and the guy was 
then 25 years old. Imagine the age gap so he was kind of like my big brother 
so I was always answerable to him. By then my parents used to give me my 
monthly allowance because I was already in school. This guy will expect me 
to give him money because he would tell me that he is not financially 
independent so he needed my financial support. I would be so emotional and 
willing to help him so I would divide my allowance into two and give him 
half. There is no way I would give him 48% and take 52% because he would 
not allow me. This went on for years until a particular day that my parents 
didn‟t give me money because I did something wrong so I went to him and 
told him that this month there is no money.  
 
Another participant who had suffered financial abuse reported that: 
 
I have never been physically abused but financially, I have been abused. When 
I was dating my last guy, he said he was not from a rich home. I will send him 
money but he never gave me anything when I was in need and he would ask me 
to call my parents. When we go out together, he makes me pay but later I found 
out that he had money. It still continued for a long time and I noticed something 
when he sees something new with me. For example, my father bought me a 
blackberry, he came all the way from his school, which is three hours journey 
to come and complain about the people I will call. The next week he also 
bought a blackberry. So, I asked him where he got the money from and he said 
he got it from his friends…. Then, when someone sends me a message or I use 
a friend as my profile on Facebook, he will come all the way from his school to 
insult me and that was part of the reason I ended the relationship. 
26 
Athens Journal of Social Sciences January 2019 
 
For university students, financial resources help with retention and persistence. 
When partners financially abuse students, this can directly impact academic 
performance.  
 
Physical Violence Plagues Participants 
 
Physical violence was also prevalent in the discussions. Participants described 
physical assaults, including at times forced sexual engagement. More than often 
women were the victims of this abuse, but in a few instances, men were physically 
harmed. A male participant who felt jealous and justified in assaulting his partner 
said: 
 
My partner got me really angry once. She was giving a lot of attention to this 
other guy and when I confronted her she said they were just friends. One time 
I went to her room, and he was there on the bed. After he left I raised the issue 
and she asked me what my problem was. I grabbed her and pushed her onto 
the floor. 
 
Another male participant admitted to slapping his partner once for referring to 
him as a greedy person. He recounted: 
 
…yes, I have ever slapped my woman. She said I was greedy. That was the 
first time I physically assaulted her but I‟m not sure that will be the last time. 
She has a loud mouth… it‟s likely to happen again…  
 
He too had been a victim of abuse in their relationship suggesting that they 
might be a violent pair. According to him: “…When she gets mad [angry], she 
throws things at me but I manage to dodge. She hasn‟t gotten me yet.” Despite the 
suffering that many endured, several participants believed they deserved the poor 
treatment. A female victim of physical abuse (slapping) claimed it was her fault 
that she was abused, explaining that: “We were arguing and I kept reminding him 
of certain personal things that really hurt and I guess he just lost it. He actually 
slapped me; but it was partly my fault.” 
Several female participants who mentioned abortions, remorsefully, said their 
partners hit and raped them anytime they refused to have sex with them and often 
did not use a condom. Another revealing situation of sexual abuse was one female 
participant whose partner incessantly demanded for anal sex. The student explain-
ned:  
 
…Mine was in a past relationship. Well, I experienced this abuse in my very 
first relationship, the guy used to always try to have anal sex with me. The 
first time he tried, I cried because it was so painful, but he wouldn‟t let go. 
Honestly, that was the main reason why I left him. I mean I just think a guy 
who can do that is a gay. It was absolutely disgusting. I‟ve heard of people 
putting on diapers because of these things, and I certainly didn‟t want to get 
there at all. After all we were not married. 
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While not as violent, a few male participants said they felt sexually abused in 
their relationships. As one of them put it: 
 
My girlfriend almost always demands for sex whenever we meet, and we 
have been battling with this issue over a long period of time. I really feel I‟m 
being abused in this relationship. It is as if I am only useful as a sex machine. 
 
The issue of sex in relationships was discussed openly within the groups. 
Many did not see premarital sex as a problem because they thought they were old 
enough to determine for themselves what they needed in their relationships. Some 
male participants said they felt rejected when denied sex by their partners and 
interpreted that as abuse of their rights in the relationship. Many of them usually 
saw this as a punishment inflicted by their female partners especially when they 
felt aggrieved. One participant said his partner often used this form of “punish-
ment,” whenever they had disagreements and this often led to abuse. Another male 
participant said he once abused his partner when she denied him of sex: 
 
Oh yes, I have abused her several times and usually because of her excuses 
when it comes to sex. I will give you an example. Once she came to my place 
and, fortunately, nobody was in the room. It was just the two of us. However, 
as always, it was one excuse after another. Of course, I got fed up. I just 
pushed her from the room. I told her to leave my room. I pushed her out, and 
she fell in the process. 
 
One recurring complaint of female participants was their partners demanding 
sex even during their menstruation periods. One participant said: 
 
…in my case, my boyfriend sometimes wants to make love to me even when 
I‟m in my menses. But I‟ve spoken to him about the health hazards, and he 
has agreed to stop so I hope I don‟t have that issue anymore. 
 
IPV Means Life and Death 
 
Women described emotional and physical assaults including rape. But at least 
two female participants spoke about receiving death threats from a partner. One 
received a death threat from a partner who was suspicious of her leaving him. 
 
There was this time my boyfriend for reasons best known to him thought I 
would leave him. We had gone out and he was dropping me at home. He 
started to say that he had put his all into the relationship and that I shouldn‟t 
disappoint him. He actually knelt in front of me and I told him he was being 
ridiculous and I guess that pissed him of course he told me that if I ever 
cheated on him one of us would die. 
 
This situation, she reckoned, put her in fear of her partner and finally 
contributed to ending the relationship. Another female participant said: 
28 
Athens Journal of Social Sciences January 2019 
 
He keeps saying he will kill me if I leave him. He goes like he‟s invested so 
much time and money in me so if he can‟t have me, he won‟t leave me alive 
for those small, small boys to come after me. …  My father died when I was 
in SHS [Senior High School] and he takes very good care of me. He has even 
opened a shop for my mom in front of our house. And so, he‟s always rubbing 
it in. Anytime there‟s a problem, he‟ll start reminding me of the things he 
does for my family and stuff.  
 
Participants shared intimate details of their personal, and at times, abusive 
relationships. The conversations recounted events that occurred prior to the focus 
group conversations and this study.  
 
Women Share Reasons for Enduring Abusive Relationships 
 
For most participants, there was no reason why they would remain in abusive 
relationships. However, for the hesitant, several reasons were given to justify why 
they stayed. Some participants gave love (whatever its definition and how they 
understood it) as a reason while others still felt comfortable in spite of the 
occasional abuse. For yet others, the fear of being maimed by an abusive partner if 
they decided to quit was sufficient to keep them in those relationships. Financial 
benefits, apart from familiarity with their partners, were by far the most important 
reasons why most female participants would not leave abusive relationships 
thereby underscoring the dependency syndrome. According to one participant: 
 
I think the devil you know is better than the angel you don‟t know, but my 
main reason is the financial support I get. At this age, I can‟t go asking my 
parents for money for all my needs so my boyfriend supports me. 
 
Another confirmed the importance of financial support from male partners: 
 
My boyfriend is virtually the one footing my master‟s program. 
After my national service, I wasn‟t getting any job, and I thought of coming 
back to school but I had no money, and he offered to foot my bills and see me 
through school. So, I stay with him.  
 
Another female participant who had similar reasons for staying said she 
would rather stay and try to make the relationship better: 
 
…Well I guess it‟s because of the reality that there‟s really nothing like a 
perfect relationship so I just weigh the good and bad sides and figure that 
aside the trashy hurtful things he says sometimes, he‟s still a good person. 
Everyone has his bad sides. This just happens to be his so I just try to live 
with it. 
 
In a few cases, some especially female participants, will not leave their 
abusive relationships because of the influence and support of their parents for their 
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male partners and for the relationship. According to one female participant who 
just could not imagine herself leaving the relationship: 
 
I can‟t just leave him. My parents really like him. They think he‟ll make a 
cool husband. And my mum‟s always backing him when we have a 
misunderstanding. She‟s always saying that there‟s nothing like a perfect man 
so I have to compromise and learn to live with him like that. 
 
Male participants provided a different perspective regarding why they felt 
compelled to stay in their relationships. While some reported they were happy 
with their partners, in spite of occasional abuse, others simply felt no need to quit 
because quitting would be a waste of time. According to one such male participant 
who had been in his current relationship for five years: “Well… having come this 
far, I think it would be a waste of time to break up and start a new relationship.” 
After all, “all women are the same.” Another male participant said: 
 
I still love my girlfriend, and I think I will be better off with her than entering 
into a new relationship. After all, it is said that the devil you know is better 
than the angel you don‟t know. 
 
It was revealing that in a few cases, participants believed that despite the 
abusive nature of their partners, they would still make good marriage partners. 
According to one male participant: 
 
Yes, we‟re having fun. Aside her loud mouth, I will say she will be a good 
home wife in the future because of the way she cooks and also attends to my 
needs when I am in a tight corner. 
 
For participants who had children, the involvement of children in a 
relationship and the hope of things getting better were also given as reasons for 
staying in abusive relationships. A female participant who had a child with her 
abusive partner said she was still in the relationship for the sake of the child. 
However, many female participants expressed the need for women to be assertive 
in relationships and have the courage to quit abusive relationships. 
 
 
Discussion 
 
While the college women in our study did exhibit some harmful, mean, 
behaviors, the women also experienced IPV more often and more extreme 
measures of abuse than males. Did perpetrators see abuse differently? Many of the 
participants who were perpetrators of abuse claimed that what they did were not 
acts of aggression but only reactions to provocative actions and words from their 
partners. In some cases, the perpetrators recognized that their actions constituted 
abuse but, instead of showing remorse or regret, they believed they had good 
reason for doing what they did. For example: 
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Athens Journal of Social Sciences January 2019 
 
The first time I hit her, we had just returned from the cinema and all she said 
was you wasted my time, instead of showing appreciation. Meanwhile, she 
was the one who requested that we go to the cinema in the first place. I was 
furious. 
 
The literature „suggests that different types of violence often coexist‟: 
physical abuse is often accompanied by sexual abuse, and then by emotional abuse 
(WHO 2012: 2) though more than a quarter of intimate relationships involve at 
least an incident of physical assault (McHugh and Frieze 2006). The findings of 
this study corroborate those findings as various forms of abuse were identified by 
participants: ranging from verbal, emotional, psychological, and financial to 
physical. Most forms of abuse ended in physical assault of partners, which was 
consistent with an earlier study on violence against women in Ghana (Amoakohene 
2004). 
Additionally, the findings of the present study showed that almost all the 
female participants had experienced some form of sexual abuse in their 
relationships with only a handful of males reporting such incidence. Emerging 
themes such as threats, financial exploitation, physical, verbal, emotional, 
psychological and sexual abuse corroborate findings of earlier studies conducted in 
Ghana (Appiah and Cusack 1999, Amoakohene 2004). Whereas participants in the 
present study openly talked about sex, in those previous studies sex appeared to be 
a taboo subject. Perhaps participants‟ education and the collegial atmosphere 
coupled with intensified coverage (education and discussion) of sex in television, 
radio, cinema and other media could account for this change. Whereas in 
Amoakohene‟s (2004) study most women did not consider rape as an offense 
within marriage, some participants in the present study reported instances of rape 
as detestable in their relationships. The findings of this study highlight the 
importance of sex, especially to male participants who saw a denial of sex as an 
offense and an abuse of their rights.  
Heise et al. (1999) provide various reasons why women may stay in abusive 
relationships including: fear of retaliation, lack of alternative means of economic 
support, lack of support from family and friends, stigma or fear of losing custody 
of children associated with divorce; and love and the hope that the partner will 
change (cited in WHO 2012: 3). Findings of this study largely corroborate the 
above conclusions as to why people, particularly women, continue to stay in 
abusive relationships. That participants would not quit because of love, financial 
support (dependency), familiarity (the devil you know … syndrome), comfort 
despite abuse, a waste of time, influence of parents and/or family, children in the 
relationship, and hope of things getting better, influence decisions to stay in 
abusive relationships.  
Most participants believed that although some instances of abuse were bound 
to occur in relationships, people should decide for themselves when it is time to 
quit. Still, participants acknowledged that repeated and/or aggravated abuse 
signaled the end of the relationship. A female participant concluded that: 
 
When you‟ve been abused repeatedly, especially when it‟s physical, then you 
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Vol. 6, No. 1    Amoakohene et al.: Intimate Partner Violence Impacts University… 
 
have to get out. Being in a relationship is good. You have someone who cares 
about you and does things for you. If you‟re happy you stay. If you are 
unhappy, simply get out! 
 
Another female participant said: 
 
...such people should leave such relationships because they are unhealthy 
relationships and obviously, the person has no respect for you. You will never 
know what this person can do to you in the future. 
 
The focus groups showed a hesitancy to label situations as IPV, but all 
perceived IPV as unacceptable aggression. 
 
 
Conclusion 
 
The study suggests that educational level does not necessarily mitigate 
intimate partner abuse. In fact, individual needs for love, and financial and 
emotional support were reported as reasons for sustaining abusive relationships. 
Generally, male partners were mostly perpetrators while female partners were 
predominantly victims; however, there were a few female participants who 
reported verbally, emotionally and, sometimes, physically abusing their partners. 
Those women reflect current trends. The Domestic Violence Unit shows a rise in 
female-to-male violence in Ghana. This trend suggests that abuse may just be a 
human phenomenon although more males than females are still recorded as 
perpetrators. Given these observations, future studies may want to examine how 
widespread the phenomenon of female-to-male violence is as well as isolate 
factors which engender intimate partner abuse, including the role of the media and 
communication messages.  
A practical recommendation would be for institutions to develop strategic 
communication plans to increase awareness of IPV among students. A short-term 
goal of the plan is to raise awareness and educate college students about IPV, 
specifically to recognize what IPV looks like in real-life situations and to 
understand the severity of IPV. Creative arts could be used to help educate 
communities. Using live theatre as the method to educate about IPV is not a new 
idea, but instead is one that has been successful in the past, enabling discussion 
about issues that are uncomfortable and that “individuals might otherwise find 
threatening or prefer to avoid” (Dill-Shackleford et al. 2015: 970). Previous studies 
about the effectiveness of an education-entertainment campaign found that, not 
only were the unintended effects of a public relations campaign lessened, but also: 
“Those who watched a play about abusive relationships not only demonstrated 
greater knowledge about relationship abuse than controls but were also less likely 
to endorse myths about relationship abuse” (Dill-Shackleford et al. 2015: 973).  
While university students experienced a varied range of intimate partner violence, 
research suggests that stronger educational efforts can decrease the number of 
young people impacted by intimate partner violence.  
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Athens Journal of Social Sciences January 2019 
 
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