Wife battering: a study of sixty cases

Sixty women who were repeatedly assaulted by their husbands were referred by the police for medicolegal examination between August 1978 and August 1981. In most instances, the injuries were non-grievous and they were mostly contusions situated mainly in the region of the head, the neck and the upper limbs. Weapons used ranged from firewood to knives. In sixty percent of the cases, complaints were made to the police after 10 years of marriage. This is probably due to the fact that the majority of the women were illiterate and not gainfully employed and were totally dependent on their husbands for their existence.