An Analysis of Premarital Counseling in Mitigating Intimate partner Violence Among The Clergy in The Anglican Diocese of Makueni County, Kenya

Abstract

Intimate-partner violence (IPV) is a public health crisis borne mainly by men and women from all socio-economic, cultural, and religious groups worldwide. IPV has severe social and economic impacts on societies and countries. This study aimed to assess the role of premarital counseling in mitigating intimate-partner violence among the clergy in the Diocese of Makueni County. The objectives of the study were to: examine the relevance of premarital counseling programs in relation to marital stability among the clergy, establish the causes of intimate-partner violence among the clergy in Makueni Diocese, identify the effectiveness of premarital counseling in resolving marital conflicts among the clergy, and to determine the competency of the clergy as premarital counselors in preparing couples for marriage responsibilities. The research under study applied social learning and psychoanalytic theory. The study used a descriptive research method to explore the link between the independent and dependent variables. The researcher applied stratified sampling to select a sample of 60 respondents from the target population of 100 clergy. The researcher applied 60 questionnaires with 22 questions categorized into four sections to study respondents and held one focus group discussion comprising 15 clergy. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28.0 software was used for quantitative data analysis. The researcher analyzed qualitative data obtained through the focus group discussions using thematic analysis. The study results reveal that 74% of the clergy never attended PMC sessions, while only 25% attended PMC sessions. Among those who attended the PMC sessions, none had an idea of the PMC programs that they attended. Respondents indicated that sex-related issues, finances, and use of mobile were the major causes of conflicts. Results also indicated that 59% of respondents experienced physical violence, 64% emotional violence and 63% experienced sexual violence. Men recorded the highest (58%) incidence of IPV, while only 32% for females. The results also indicated that couples who attended PMC sessions had few marital conflicts as compared to those who did not attend. Regarding the competency of the clergy as PMC counselors, results indicate that 49% of the clergy had received some form of training in PMC. 68% of the respondents indicated that they did not use a PMC manual but applied their knowledge and the bible to undertake PMC. The study recommends that the church and other service providers emphasize the importance of PMC to couples intending to marry, and they need to develop PMC programs that instill conflict resolution skills.