“Investigate your partner’s family before marriage” – Shan George

A seasoned actress, singer, and film producer, Shan George, has advised both women and men to thoroughly investigate the backgrounds of their partners’ families prior to entering into marriage.

In an interview with Saturday Beats, George stated, “I believe in people feeling free to speak out, as long as it’s true, and not some gimmick for attention or just to smear another person’s reputation.

“Based on our culture that generally gives a man more authority at home, many perpetrators (of domestic violence and spousal abuse) get away with it. Also, their spouse may have a change of mind, don’t forget that love is involved here, and children too most times, have to be considered before any action is taken by women who suffer abuse.

“I will advise that like it used to be done in the past, please do an investigation into a person’s family history, genotype, and other important issues before marriage. Some of the things that cause pressure that aggravates to abuse, most times are in the lineage.”

She also commended the strong reactions from the public and relevant authorities in response to the murder and abuse cases occurring in Nigeria.

“There’s a good outrage about such a situation already, knowing that it is traumatic for both parents, the one who lost a child and the one whose child killed another person, is probably why we may feel the outrage isn’t enough. Also, I believe such outrage usually draws the attention of the security agents, and once they are already handling the case, it’s normal for people to back down a bit. Until maybe when they sense an injustice in the handling of the case by the security agents.”