ABSTRACT
This chapter is about why spouse abuse is wrong in Mayotte and how it sometimes happens. It attempts to understand the meaning of spouse abuse for people in Mayotte and argues in terms of local moral precepts. A shorter section at the end shifts to the level of behavioral and material factors that may affect the incidence of abuse. Adultery is quite common; yet while injured spouses respond with hurt and anger, they cannot, in the strict sense of the term, punish each other for adultery since neither of them is under the sexual control of the other. The fact that spouse abuse is conceptually, morally, and emotionally wrong undoubtedly keeps the incidence down but, of course, does not prevent its occurrence. A quick and informal oral survey among a number of colleagues with experience in various parts of the island suggests that domestic violence is frowned upon everywhere.
